1. Cognitive engineering research at Risø from 1962–1979

The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to ongoing discussions defining the future of cognitive engineering research by examining a part of its past. The intellectual history of one particular line of research, that of the Electronics Department at Risø National Laboratory, is reviewed. A number of influential studies, conducted between 1962 and 1979, are described. Among these are operational experience acquired from the introduction of a prototype digital console in a nuclear research reactor, two field studies of professional operators conducting representative tasks in representative settings (electronic trouble-shooting and conventional power plant control), and analyses of over 645 human error reports in the nuclear and aviation industries. Examples of the influence that the Risø work has had on basic and applied problems are reviewed. Also, some of the themes characterizing the Risø research in cognitive engineering are identified. These themes help define what cognitive engineering is, and what it might be concerned with in the future.