Two to Tango: CEAT students combine their expertise in DoD research
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Media Contact: Kristi Wheeler | CEAT, Marketing and Communications Manager | 405-744-5831 | kristi.wheeler@okstate.edu
Oklahoma State University engineering students aren’t just at the forefront of innovation;
it’s built into their DNA.
Through the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, students become experts
in their field of study thanks to faculty dedicated to interdisciplinary research
opportunities.
Two students who have both grown their knowledge base through collaborative research have also embarked on the path to obtaining three degrees.
Brock Rouser, a School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering student, and Ainsley Kyle, a School of Industrial Engineering and Management graduate, will both have earned their undergraduate degree, master’s degree and Ph.D.
Rouser completed his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering in 2023 and is pursuing his master’s in MAE with a goal to complete his Ph.D. by 2028. Kyle earned her bachelor’s in 2023, master’s in 2024 and expects to earn her Ph.D. in 2026 and interned at the Air Force Research Laboratory this summer.
Both have worked alongside Dr. Paul Ryan, an MAE professor, and Dr. Katie Jurewicz, an IEM professor, on research that combined the experience of multiple engineering disciplines.
Success in interdisciplinary research
Under the oversight of Ryan and Jurewicz, the research team has worked on projects to aid the Department of Defense, including an assignment at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, and collaborating on projects with flight simulators in Ryan’s lab.
Kyle and Rouser have combined their research interests to study cognitive workload in complex situations and how systems can be designed to support operators when the amount of information becomes overbearing.
“Regardless of whether you’re flying a plane or driving a car, we have limits to our cognitive abilities, and the reality is that we cannot make our brains bigger to process more information,” Jurewicz said. “The modern world’s volume of information available to humans has forced the operator into a state of information overload. With the implementation of automation across industries, fully autonomous systems have also forced the human operator into a state of information underload.”
Jurewicz said research has shown people can’t make decisions effectively when in an overload or underload capacity. They capture mental workload in real time and adapt automation to fit the operator’s cognitive needs.
Kyle and Rouser have studied the concept of the behavior of pilots in flight under conditions of differing automation and task difficulty using a flight simulator.
Rouser and Paul built a database to capture psychophysiological data in real time while Kyle and Jurewicz focused on human factors, or how and when the pilot’s cognitive state changed. The team then built statistical models to capture and quantify this data.
“Our strengths from IEM and MAE complement each other, especially in aerospace and defense applications, so that we can effectively study human-automation interaction across different industries,” Jurewicz said. “The collaborative research environment provides a unique opportunity to students because although I advise Ainsley and she will have a Ph.D. in industrial engineering, her degree and her expertise will have a flavor of aerospace engineering through the additional mentorship that Dr. Paul provides and through collaborating with Brock.”
Rouser and Kyle’s collaboration exemplifies the interdisciplinary possibilities within CEAT.
“Based on the work we’re doing, we have more opportunities for people to join our graduate student ranks,” Ryan said. “They can then grow on the MAE side or the IEM side. We have an integrated and cohesive team, and I don’t think it really matters which side they go on.”
Kyle said working with Rouser has been a great collaboration that has served as a learning and teaching experience for both.
“I feel like he’s great at things that I’m not, and it’s very complementary, so we
work well together,” Kyle said.
Rouser has learned the value of gaining additional experience and adding as much to
his toolbelt as possible.
“After graduation, I would like to find a career that supports my love of research, whether that is in industry or academia,” Rouser said. “The DoD project I’m on with Dr. Paul and Dr. Jurewicz has given me experience working with industry that I don’t believe I would’ve otherwise had.”
Strong mentorship
Innovative faculty and inquisitive students go hand in hand.
In CEAT, students are exposed to faculty at the top of their fields who expand the boundaries of their expertise and help students strive to meet their full potential.
This forges a strong bond between faculty and their students, resulting in mentorship that students can lean on for support.
Rouser has family ties to CEAT, as his father, Kurt, is an assistant professor in MAE and Brock has had multiple siblings graduate from MAE.
Although pursuing a similar path to his father, he has found an area of research that is his own.
“Anyone who meets Brock for the first time will pretty quickly realize that he is an intellectual person, and anyone who works with Brock on a project will certainly realize that he has an incredibly strong work ethic and a sincere interest in helping people,” Kurt Rouser said. “So, it was no surprise to me that he opted to remain for graduate studies.
“Though I occasionally pull him back to the wind tunnel to help us troubleshoot our data acquisition system, he is entirely independent of me in his graduate program with Dr. Paul. So, in that sense, I think he has realized his vision of pursuing his own path without feeling pressure to follow in my footsteps.”
Brock said his father has always supported his pursuits and has been a mentor to him since he started in CEAT.
“My dad has always been my engineering and academic role model,” Brock said. “I don’t believe he ever made me feel like I had to go into grad school, but he has offered helpful insight now that I’m here. I’ve had many people offer me inspiration and mentorship prior to enrolling in my Ph.D. program, such as my mother and Dr. Paul.”
Kyle has also developed a strong bond with Jurewicz, whom she affectionately calls Dr. J.
“It’s really great to have women I can talk to in this field,” Kyle said. “I always try to remember and thank them for their contributions because that’s hard work for a lot of people. Dr. Jurewicz has been like my academic mother. She is my muse. She has been amazing and just the best advisor and mentor.”
CEAT researchers are beneficiaries of leadership dedicated to OSU’s land-grant mission. Ryan said it is great to have leadership that is openly receptive to many types of research.
“Finding the collaboration with IEM has been very useful here at Oklahoma State, in particular, with the emphasis on the land-grant mission and our goal to have an impact on our state, our country and the world around us,” Ryan said. “It is great that CEAT’s leadership encourages this and is receptive to things outside of the National Science Foundation lane, which feeds the land-grant mission well.”
Kyle said the interdisciplinary partnership addressing complex issues will be a great asset to her as she continues in her career.
“Dr. Paul’s domain knowledge in aerospace has provided critical insight into pilot-related challenges,” Kyle said. “Brock is quite literally the most useful human being I have ever met, so I could go on and on about the way we share/develop ideas and implement them into data analysis. His input keeps my methodological ideas and developments grounded by the practical implications of our work.”
Jurewicz knew from the start how special Kyle and Rouser are as researchers, praising their instinctive curiosity that can’t be taught.
“It is their interest in the complex intricacies of human behavior, technology and the world that sets them up for a fruitful career in academia that stands out,” Jurewicz said. “Their line of thinking is so far beyond how humans interact in daily life, and they both come up with research questions that seek to make the world a better place both now and in the future.”
Photos: Gary Lawson and Ellie Piper
Story by: Tanner Holubar | IMPACT Magazine