Matthew Bolton
About
Dr. Bolton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Systems and Information Engineering at the University of Virginia. Prior to joining UVA in January 2022, he was a Senior Researcher at the NASA Ames Research Center, an Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and an Assistant/Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York. Dr. Bolton is primarily interested in studying why engineered systems fail, and how to prevent failures through human-centered systems engineering. As such, he is an expert on the use of formal, mathematical methods in human factors engineering, particularly as it relates to discovering engineering oversights that lead to human behavior, error, and cognition contributing to failures. He has successfully applied his research to safety-critical applications in aerospace, medicine, defense, and cybersecurity. Dr. Bolton has received funding on projects sponsored by the European Space Agency, NSF, NASA, AHRQ, and DoD.
Education
B.S. Computer Science, University of Virginia, 2003
M.S. Systems Engineering, University of Virginia, 2006
Ph.D. Systems Engineering, University of Virginia, 2010
Research Interests
Selected Publications
Awards
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The Challenge and Innovation of Underwater Search and Rescue
Read NowRescue divers still sometimes rely on rope signals to communicate with their surface guides. This expert diver — and UVA systems engineering Ph.D. student — has a better way.
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Trust is Not the Answer: Rethinking Human-Machine Interaction for Ethical Engineering
Read NowMatthew Bolton argues that relying on trust in AI can mislead users, advocating instead for transparency, reliability and ethical design.