After 26 years of teaching at Claremont McKenna College, Professor of Psychology Harvey Wichman is retiring. While he has studied such diverse fields as short-term memory, passenger misbehavior aboard airplanes, and forgiveness, he has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union Tribune, and the Chicago Tribune for his psychological research on space travel for the common man.
A pioneer in the field of environmental psychology, Wichman has conducted research on the effects of working and living in severe environments. As a Sloan Foundation Fellow, Wichman worked for a year on the design of the International Space Station with Rockwell International. As director of the Aerospace Psychology Laboratory at CMC, Wichman used a Sloan Foundation grant to develop a practicum for the study of human response to life in a simulated civilian spacecraft. He has participated with NASA in its Bio-Space Technology Training Program in the design of space vehicles and worked in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop speech recognition systems for astronauts. Wichman's space research has most recently involved designing passenger compartments for civilian space flight on a new re-useable McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (now Boeing Aerospace) rocket.
Although retiring from teaching, Wichman plans to continue research and projects such as his upcoming collaboration with a group of private investors to redesign the Russian space lab Mir for use by space tourists.
Wichman received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from California State University, Long Beach and his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Claremont Graduate University. He was a member of the founding faculties of both Delta College in Michigan and California State University in San Bernardino. He has authored a book, Human Factors in the Design of Spacecraft, and published articles in journals such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Space Life Sciences, Human Factors, and Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine .
For interviews with Wichman, contact Tasha Wade at (909) 621-8099.
Claremont McKenna College is a highly selective, independent liberal arts college, educating leaders in business and public affairs. CMC enrolls 1,000 students and is a member of The Claremont Colleges.