Collaboration Optimization and Methods for Extreme Teams (COMET) Lab examines teamwork in extreme environments with the ultimate goal of optimizing safety and performance. By developing and evaluating novel theoretical frameworks, COMET Lab contributes to the growing body of team science research while advancing data-driven, practical strategies for teams across a variety of occupational settings. Moreover, workplace teams often represent components of larger sociotechnical systems, commonly referred to in the team science literature as multi-team systems. As multi-team systems are suggested to function differently than traditional teams, another focus of COMET Lab is to understand the unique dynamics and processes inherent in these complex systems. Finally, COMET Lab examines the dynamics involved in human-AI teamwork across various contexts.
Equipment
- Three participant data collection stations
Recent Publications
Berger, L., Khalid, M., & Salas, E. (2025). Uncovering the teamwork competencies for multi-team systems operating in extreme environments. Small Group Research, 57(1), 3-48. https://doi.org/10.1177/10464964251384643Korentsides, J., Merwin, E., Berger, L., Laskey, L., Winter, S., Sobel, B., & Keebler, J. (2026). The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the flight deck: Enhancing human-AI teamwork in aviation. Journal of the Air Transport Research Society, 100099. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jatrs.2025.100099
Berger, L., Khalid, M., Linhardt, R., Fernandez, G. C., & Salas. E. (2026). Enhancing cybersecurity through teamwork: Developing effective Security Operation Center teams. In Keebler, J. & Fausett, C. (Eds.), Handbook of Human Factors in Cybersecurity Systems. CRC Press: Taylor & Francis Group.
Khalid, M., Fernandez, G. C., Berger, L., Haywood, A., & Salas. E. (In press). Roadmap to expert teams: Investigating principles, transformation strategies and special considerations of collective expertise. In Williams, M., Kozbelt, A., Preckel, F., & Hoffman R. (Eds.), Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance. Cambridge University Press.
Fernández Castillo, G., Khan, M., Berger, L., Linhardt, R., Jean-Baptiste, T., & Salas, E. (2025). The team resilience prescription: Navigating adaptive and maladaptive processes in healthcare teams. Journal of Interprofessional Care. 39:2, 314-320, https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2025.2460477
Lab Director
Lila Stout
Assistant Professor
- Dept of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology
- College of Arts & Sciences