SIFT Staff

Chief Scientist

Christopher A. Miller

Ph.D. Cognition and Communication Psychology

Dr. Miller has pioneered work in computational models of human etiquette and politeness perception and their applications for nearly 10 years.

Vice President, R&D

Harry B. Funk

B.A. Psychology

B.S. Computer Science

Mr. Funk's main areas of expertise and responsibility include technical project and program management.

Chief Manager

Amy Bromberg Funk

 Ms. Funk is an attorney at Target and performs legal reviews for SIFT.

President

Andrea Bell

Ph.D. Spanish

Dr. Bell is an associate Professor at Hamline University while simultaneously performing management duties at SIFT.

Principal Researcher

Robert Goldman

Ph.D. Computer Science

Dr. Goldman is a principal scientist, specializing in Artificial Intelligence. His particular research interests involve the intersection between planning and control theory, plan recognition, and reasoning under uncertainty.

Eric Engstrom

B.A. Computer Science and Philosophy

Mr. Engstrom is a senior SIFT researcher whose expertise is broadly in Software Engineering. In particular, his experience and interests lie in the areas of Model-Based Development and Formal Methods.

David Musliner

Ph.D. Computer Science

Mr. Musliner specializes in real-time planning and control, intelligent autonomy, and agent-based systems.

Kip Smith

Ph.D. Business Administration

Mr. Smith specializes in cognitive systems engineering and decision making; design and analysis of empirical studies; cultural norms for team cohesion.

Dan Thomsen

M.S. Computer Science

Mr. Thompson's main areas of interest include computer security research ranging from high assurance operating systems, multilevel database security, and security policy management.

Senior Researcher

John Maraist

Dr.,Rer.,Nat. Computer Science

M.E. Computer Science

Specializes in software engineering, programming languages, scheduling and planning.

Peggy Wu

B.Sc. Computer Engineering

Ms. Wu specializes in human factors, interaction design, cross cultural implications on design, and leveraging sociology based theory to enhance human-computer and computer mediated human-human interactions.

Michael Pelican

M.S. Computer Science

Mr. Pelican specializes in planning and control for autonomous systems in dynamic and uncertain environments.

 

Researcher

Jeffrey Rye

B.S. Computer Science

Mr. Rye's main areas of interest are in software development and design, particularly in designing tools for user interface development.

Josh Hamell

Mr. Hamell's interests include software development and multi-agent coordination. He is experienced in Java, database and test methodologies.

Sonja Schmer-Galunder

M.S. Cultural Anthropology

Mrs. Schmer-Galunder's areas of research include Social and Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience.

Tammy Ott

M.A. Experimental Psychology

Ms. Ott's research interests include various areas of experimental psychology.

Chief Research Pilot

Howard Bell

M.S. Aeronautical Science

Mr. Bell serves as SIFT's Subject Matter Expert for flying operations.

Administrative Director

Linda Holje

Ms. Holje is responsible for all of SIFT's administrative functions.

Intern

Kimberly Ferguson-Walter

B.S and M.S. Computer Science

Ms. Ferguson-Walter's research interests include machine learning, reinforcement learning, transfer learning, intelligent tutoring systems, and compact representations

Amie Lasserre

Ms. Lasserre is currently studying Psychology at the University of Minnesota. Her areas of interest include cognitive psychology as it relates to human performance and human computer interaction.

Bryan Bell

 Mr. Bell is currently studying computer science at the University of Minnesota. His responsibilities at SIFT include web design and various video editing projects.

Jesse Hostetler

B.S. Computer Science and Psychology

Mr. Hostetler's research interests include machine learning, artificial intelligence, and biomimetic algorithms.