Gale M. Lucas PhD
Professor of Research
HRA 412E
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Website: chan.usc.edu/tel
Dr. Gale M. Lucas is a leading researcher in human-computer interaction and trust-in-automation in the workplace. Specifically, her expertise is in teaming, training, and co-working with Artificial Intelligence (AI). After obtaining a PhD from Northwestern University, she completed her postdoc on the topic of AI at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), and then went on to serve as the Director of ICT’s Technology Evaluation Lab. From there, she joined the Chan Division, also serving as a member of Chan’s Statistics Information Graphics Management & Analysis (SIGMA) Core.
Education
Postdoctoral Fellowship
in Computer Science
2015 | University of Southern California
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
in Psychology
2010 | Northwestern University
Master of Arts (MA)
in Psychology
2008 | Northwestern University
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
in Psychology
2005 | Willamette University
Selected Publications
Seyedrezaei, M., Becerik-Gerber, B., Roll, S. C., Lucas, G., & Narayanan, S. (2026). Longitudinal exploration of productivity and well-being in hybrid work through ecological momentary assessment and environmental sensing. Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000003833 Show abstract
Objective. To explore how hybrid workspaces (home vs. office) affect productivity and well-being, and whether indoor environmental quality (IEQ) mediates these associations.
Methods. Nineteen office workers were followed for four months, contributing 4,559 ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) of productivity, mood, stress, and eustress-distress appraisal. Continuous IEQ monitoring captured CO₂, TVOCs, PM₂.₅, temperature, humidity, and noise. Mixed-effects and multilevel mediation models assessed within-person associations.
Results. Office work was associated with higher productivity and greater eustress-distress coexistence, while home work was associated with higher boredom. Mood differences were small, and stress was modestly lower at home. Home workspaces showed poorer air quality. CO₂ and TVOCs were indirectly associated with mood and stress differences.
Conclusions. Hybrid work outcomes differ by location and are partly explained by IEQ, suggesting residential air quality as an occupational health intervention target.
Awards
Creativity and Innovation Award | 2025
Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute's Team Science Celebration Day
Artifact Award, Runner-up | 2025
Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium
Best Paper, Nomination | 2021
WeCNLP (West Coast NLP) Summit
Best Student Paper | 2021
Annual Conference on Advances in Cognitive Systems,
Winner of the Human-Agent League: "Pilot Agent" | 2020
Automated Negotiating Agents Competition, International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence
Service to the Conference | 2019
ACM International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces
Best Socially Interactive Agents Paper, Nomination | 2018
Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems Conference
Best Paper | 2016
International Conference on Multimodal Interaction
Best Presentation | 2016
ACM SIGGRAPH Conference on Motion in Games
Best Paper | 2016
International Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality, and Associated Technologies
Best Poster | 2016
International Communication Association
Best Paper | 2015
Workshop on Automatic Sentiment Analysis in the Wild
Best Demo Paper | 2015
International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction
Best Paper, Runner-up | 2014
Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems Conference
Class of 1959 Distinguished Scholar Chair (inaugural recipient) | 2010
Willamette University,
Travel Award | 2007
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Graduate Research Fellowship | 2006-2009
National Science Foundation
Teaching Assistant of the Year (inaugural recipient) | 2006
Northwestern University, Psychology Department
Fellowship | 2005-2006
Northwestern University
Graduated Summa Cum Laude and With Honors | 2005
Northwestern University
Noel F. Kaestner Psychology Award (for academic excellence & department service) | 2005
Willamette University
Presidential Senior Scholar Award | 2004-2005
Willamette University
Norman A. Huffman Award | 2004-2005
Willamette University
Phi Beta Kappa honor society (inducted as a junior) | 2004
Willamette University
Summer Science Fellow | 2003
American Psychological Association
G. Herbert Smith Presidential Award | 2001-2005
Willamette University
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