13th Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control & Human-Machine Interface Technologies (NPIC&HMIT 2023)

18th International Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2023)

Katya Le Blanc, PhD

Senior Human Factors Scientist

Idaho National Laboratory

Katya Le Blanc is a senior human factors scientist whose research has improved operator interfaces for control of energy systems including nuclear power plant equipment in the field and in the control room, transmission system technologies, and interfaces for accelerator control systems. She is a skilled researcher who investigates a diverse range of topics from human factors in cyber security to developing innovative methods to measure human performance in complex environments. She is a passionate mentor who prioritizes developing students and junior members of her team to reach their full potential as researchers. She has demonstrated leadership as a principal investigator for more than a dozen projects and is currently the deputy national technical director of the cybersecurity program for the Department of Energy's office of Nuclear Energy. Katya has over 100 technical publications in the subject of human factors in the energy sector. She is a senior member of IEEE and holds a PhD and master’s degree in cognitive psychology from New Mexico State University and a BS in psychology from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.