Presenter

Dr. Maia Cook is the CEO and President of Pacific Science & Engineering Group, Inc. (PSE), a San Diego small business specializing in human factors engineering and human systems integration for high-consequence military and industrial systems. Dr. Cook earned her PhD in Cognitive Science from the University of California, Irvine. Since joining PSE, she has played a pivotal role in the company’s success and growth over the past two decades. Dr. Cook began her career at PSE in 2005 as an applied cognitive scientist, generating a wide range of human factors analysis and design solutions that improved intelligence analysis, human geospatial judgments, battlespace awareness and decision making, and proactive monitoring in industrial process control and unmanned vehicle control. In 2013, she established PSE’s Human-Autonomy Integration area, leading a diverse portfolio of unmanned systems, human-autonomy, and human-AI integration projects that advanced the design, standardization, and scalability of U.S. Navy air, undersea, and surface unmanned systems planning and C2 human-machine interfaces. In 2022, Dr. Cook was appointed as PSE’s Chief Scientist, spearheading the company’s scientific vision and direction. In 2024, she was appointed as PSE’s CEO and President. Across these positions, Dr. Cook’s work has focused on bridging across human factors and technology disciplines to improve the integration of humans and systems.