Thomas Chan

Technology Developer and Applied Community Researcher
California State University Northridge

Thomas Chan, PhD, Technology Developer and Applied Community Researcher. Dr. Chan is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at California State University Northridge. His expertise is in developing user interfaces (UI) and user experiences (UX) to promote positive cognitive and mental health outcomes. His content expertise is in user engagement (e.g., motivation, behavior, design), cognitive neuroscience, structural equation modeling, and psychosocial development. He has secured funding from The National Institute of Health/National Institute on Aging (NIA-T32AG000247) and The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Center for Innovative Care in Aging to design and evaluate technological community-based interventions.  He has worked extensively with engineers, software developers and programmers and—leads multiple studies that test wearables and immersive technologies (e.g., mobile EEGs, virtual neuromotor activities) that aim to promote health in at-risk aging adults and their families. Additionally, he has worked with cities (e.g., The City of Claremont) and community businesses (e.g., Washington DC & Baltimore) to improve the enriching services provided to their residents.  He has received multiple honors for his technology development work (e.g., Over and Above Award) and was the first person in the world to conduct a marriage proposal in MagicLeap (Augmented Reality).