Alex Trofimovsky

Current

Research Associate at Market Research, Rosetta Stone, Inc.

Past

Research Assistant at Human Factors & Usability Research, Statistical Research Division, U.S. Census Bureau
Graduate Research Assistant at Mental Imagery and Human-Computer Interaction Lab, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, GMU
Undergraduate Research Assistant at Eye Tracking and Language Processing Lab, Department of Psychology, College of Staten Island, CUNY

Undergraduate Research Assistant at Behavior Research Lab, Department of Psychology, College of Staten Island, CUNY

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Education

George Mason University
City University of New York-College of Staten Island

Recommended

5 people have recommended Alex

Connections

63 connections

Industry

Research

Alex Trofimovsky’s Summary

Academically (bachelors and masters degree) and professionally (3+) experienced researcher specializing in human factors psychology and usability engineering. Highly skilled with PCs, and beginning to learn computer programming. Interested in Paul Ekman's work on facial behaivor analysis.

Alex Trofimovsky’s Specialties:

Eye-tracking, literature reviews, usability testing, Facial Action Coding System, human factors

Alex Trofimovsky’s Experience

Research Associate

Market Research, Rosetta Stone, Inc.

(Computer Software industry)

September 2008 — Present (11 months)

• I designed usability test protocols, ran test subjects, took notes during the testing, and wrote up reports:
o Performed user-experience testing on the company's new U.S. Web site (June 2009)
o Performed user-experience testing on a highly important future Web-centric product
• Gained significant experience on the work of Paul Ekman related to facial behavior analysis:
o Gained certification in the Facial Action Coding System (FACS)
o Satisfactorily completed the Micro Expression Training Tool (METT) Advanced
o Using this knowledge, observed and coded emotions of viewers watching company TV-advertisements
• Gained a great deal of experience with the Tobii eye-tracking system, particularly tuning different technological parts (i.e., the Tobii T6, Tobii Studio, and the PC) for optimal performance.
• Gained significant experience related to the coding of open ended survey responses, and social media content:
o Reviewing hundreds of responses to different survey question one-by-one.
o Became proficient with SPSS Inc. PASW Text Analytics and PASW Modeler (formerly known as Text Mining for Clementine and Clementine) in order to perform text analytics.
• Redesigned and upgraded the Market Research Lab’s observation room and testing room:
o Researched and purchased different PC (software and hardware), video, and furniture to improve lab functionality
• Provided technical assistance to colleagues in the Market Research team.
Research Assistant

Human Factors & Usability Research, Statistical Research Division, U.S. Census Bureau

(Government Administration industry)

July 2006 — September 2008 (2 years 3 months)

Became knowledgeable in running and leading usability evaluations, information architecture exercises, and expert reviews:
• Lead information architecture exercises utilizing the card sorting method, and wrote up a report for client
• Lead an expert review utilizing industry accepted heuristics, and wrote up a report for client
• Evaluated and observed several user interfaces while having potential users walkthrough realistic scenarios, coded such sessions, and wrote up reports for internal clients
Graduate Research Assistant

Mental Imagery and Human-Computer Interaction Lab, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, GMU

(Research industry)

July 2007 — May 2008 (11 months)

• Ran test subjects, analyzed experimental results, conducted literature reviews, and wrote and reviewed research proposals
• Using Realtime Technologies, Inc. driving simulation software (SimCreator and SimVista), spent the greater part of the summer of 2007 creating complex driving scenarios for use in individual differences experimentation using GMU's high-fidelity driving simulator
• Created and maintained the course Web page for the spring 2008 PSYC 737 Human–Technology Interaction course
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Eye Tracking and Language Processing Lab, Department of Psychology, College of Staten Island, CUNY

(Research industry)

August 2005 — June 2006 (11 months)

• Conducted an extensive literature review on aviation, psychology and eye–tracking
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Behavior Research Lab, Department of Psychology, College of Staten Island, CUNY

(Research industry)

August 2004 — August 2005 (1 year 1 month)

• Presented research in the 2005 and 2006 Undergraduate Research Poster Sessions

Alex Trofimovsky’s Education

George Mason University

MA , Human Factors and Applied Cognition , 2006 — 2008

Activities and Societies:

Was a member of the student human factors and ergonomics society (HFES). Proud of having attended four straight annual meetings of HFES.
City University of New York-College of Staten Island

BA , Psychology , 2002 — 2006

Activities and Societies:

Was president of the psychology club 2005-2006. Member of Psi-Chi.