Meet Lead Scientist Jon Sussman-Fort
Relatively new to SoarTech, lead scientist Jonathan (Jon) Sussman-Fort said he has appreciated the collaborative and friendly nature of his fellow employees.
Jon, who joined SoarTech in March, said, “My desire is to contribute to projects related to human performance and readiness and apply my neuroscience background to improve measures of cognitive state and human-machine interface design. Additionally, I hope to contribute to projects related to novel treatment and diagnostic approaches that can improve the quality of life for patients.”
A Long Island, N.Y. native, Jon earned his bachelor’s in biomedical engineering from Columbia University and his Ph.D. in neuroscience from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He has always been interested in science, beginning with marine biology at a young age, then over time expanding his interests to biomedical sciences and in particular neuroscience. “Of course, at a very young age these options were in strong competition with playing professional baseball or soccer,” he said.
“Human-centered AI is key to addressing the military’s tough problems because it provides the focus to assist the warfighter by relying on solutions that are driven by human inputs and peripheral physiologic measurements,” he said. “In this way the AI system can support and enhance a user’s capabilities towards achieving task goals in challenging environments and under difficult conditions.”
Jon said that autonomous systems in the defense industry are increasingly replacing human activity, raising the question of the level of automation and the role of the human operator in interacting with these systems. “I hope to be able improve approaches to human-interface design and provide better understanding of the physiologic indicators and biomarkers underlying operator state,” he said.
A NY sports fan -Yankees, Giants, Knicks and NYCFC – Jon enjoys playing soccer, or hitting the batting cages or golf range. He also enjoys Tom Clancy books and loves the beach.
