Biography

Richard A. Schmidt, Ph.D., is the President of Human Performance Research and Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His career spans decades of research, teaching, and consulting at the intersection of human capabilities and real-world performance.

Early Years & Education

Dr. Schmidt attended high school in Santa Barbara, California. He went on to earn his B.A. in physical education with a minor in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1963, followed by an M.A. from UC Berkeley in 1965. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1967.

Athletic Achievement

While at UC Berkeley, Dr. Schmidt distinguished himself in gymnastics. In 1962, he was named to the All American Gymnastics Team on the still rings — a testament to the blend of discipline, precision, and motor control that would later define his academic work.

Academic & Professional Path

Following his doctoral studies, Dr. Schmidt built a career focused on human motor learning, human factors, and ergonomics. He served on the faculty of UCLA's Department of Psychology and has been President of Human Performance Research since June 2001. Since January 2009, he has also served as Senior Human Factors Consultant for Vector Scientific, Inc.

His research emphases include human performance and motor skills, human motor learning, human factors, and ergonomics — areas in which he has published extensively and consulted for a wide range of organizations.