- April 27th, 2021: I was interviewed for a story on Nature Index about the importance of and what can be gained by doing science communication for a more general and younger audience. The interview was about the recent set of papers our group had written for the journal Frontiers for Young Minds. The full story (posted April, 2021) can be found here: https://www.natureindex.com/news-blog/lessons-writing-a-science-paper-kids-journal-frontiers-young-minds

- November 15th, 2020: I was recently interviewed by the Association for Psychological Science about my move to the National Science Foundation and my work as a Program Director. The full story (posted October 2020) can be found here: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/hout?fbclid=IwAR3OTltxnSyYGsXXV-mq3K1HTqfoBTjmnPy_lbRa-ai2EX_Dai0j1gjc9FA

- August 7th, 2020: NMSU news just ran a story on my appointment as Program Director at the National Science Foundation. The full story can be found here: https://newscenter.nmsu.edu/Articles/view/14350/two-nmsu-professors-selected-for-nsf-program-director-appointments

- On October 2nd, 2019, the Addison Care Virtual and Augmented Reality Laboratory – sponsored by Las Cruces based tech company Electronic Caregiver and co-directed by myself and Dr. Phillip Post – opened on NMSU campus. This event was widely covered in the media, including: Youtube coverage of the lab from NMSU:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0BEX1iw-7U&fbclid=IwAR1v60_w60FgxsRLNjQ2WxoNV4E7DoYKSNrNh2yNxRzcdU7h29agOI7VgMM
- An NMSU news briefing: https://newscenter.nmsu.edu/Articles/view/13886/nmsu-electronic-caregiver-unveil-virtual-reality-lab-at-milton-hall?fbclid=IwAR2wh_bN-EV0OJcRrU39GrLm94G_HOTVQrBT6cq8vpjp7TQfCWXAW9T-sqI
- KVIA El Paso news coverage: https://www.kvia.com/news/new-mexico/virtual-reality-research-lab-unveiled-at-new-mexico-state-university/1128290800
- KTSM El Paso news coverage: https://www.ktsm.com/local/nmsu-unveils-virtual-reality-research-lab-improve-quality-of-life-for-others/
- Las Cruces Sun News coverage: https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/2019/10/03/nmsu-professors-demonstrated-functions-of-the-virtual-reality-lab/3847061002/
Dr. Phillip Post, left, and Dr. Michael Hout, right, speaking at the opening of the Addison Care Virtual Reality/ Augmented Reality Laboratory in Milton Hall. October 2, 2019. (NMSU photo by Josh Bachman) Dan Arvizu, New Mexico State University Chancellor, testing out one of the Virtual Reality work stations with the help of Saleem Masadeh, Phd student in the Computer Science department, during the opening of the Addison Care Virtual Reality/ Augmented Reality Laboratory in Milton Hall. October 2, 2019. (NMSU photo by Josh Bachman)


On February 18th, 2017, the Las Cruces Sun News ran a story about the Rising Star award I received from the Association for Psychological Science. The full article can be found at: http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/education/nmsu/2018/02/17/nmsu-professor-receives-award-advancing-psychology/348314002/

On July 26th, 2017, our work was featured in a Psychonomic Society blog post by Dr. Gary Lupyan. Gary discussed our recent article in Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics entitled, “Categorical templates are more useful when features are consistent: Evidence from eye-movements during search for societally important vehicles.” The full article can be found at: https://featuredcontent.psychonomic.org/finding-the-waldolance-among-sedans-verbal-cues-can-guide-search-for-societally-important-vehicles/

In April, 2017, the Las Cruces Sun News ran a story on the Discovery Scholars Program, of which I am the associate director. Link to the online story: http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/2017/03/25/nmsus-discovery-scholars-program-gives-students-paid-research-experience/99603844/

In January, 2017, NMSU covered the awards given out at the spring convocation, of which I was a recipient (of the Donald C. Roush award for excellence in teaching). Link to the online story: https://newscenter.nmsu.edu/Articles/view/12307/nmsu-honors-faculty-retired-staff-member-during-convocation-ceremony

In August, 2016, NMSU covered the awards given out at the fall convocation, of which I was a recipient (for Early Career Exceptional Achievement in Scholarly Activity). The full article can be found here: https://newscenter.nmsu.edu/Articles/view/12076/nmsu-convocation-honors-eight-faculty-members-for-excellence-in-teaching-research

In June, 2016, our article was published in a special issue of Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, called “Arguments about the nature of concepts: Symbols, embodiment, and beyond.” The issue was covered in a blog post for the Psychonomic Society by Dr. Stephan Lewandowsky. The full article can be found here: http://www.psychonomic.org/featured-content-detail/symbodiment-god-may-really-be-up-there-perhaps-you

On January 3rd, 2015, an article came out in the Las Cruces Sun News discussing our research on collaborative visual search, and our budding work on eye-movements and expertise. The full article can be found here: http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/education/nmsu/2016/01/03/research-shows-some-jobs-better-done-alone/78230552/

On December 17th, 2015, our work was featured in a Psychonomic Society blog post by Dr. Melissa Le-Hao Vo. Melissa discussed our recent article in Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics entitled, “Using multidimensional scaling to quantify similarity in visual search and beyond.” The full article can be found at http://www.psychonomic.org/featured-content-detail/telling-apart-santas-stockings-sneaky-waldos-ho-ho.

In October, 2015, the work that we have been doing with Garrett Bennett, as part of the NMSU Discovery Scholars program, was featured in the Las Cruces Sun News, and the NMSU news. Found, here: http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/education/nmsu/2015/10/31/program-fosters-undergraduates-achievement/74950956/

Our recent article in PLoS One, entitled “The perception of naturalness correlates with low-level visual features of environmental scenes” was discussed in an article by CityLab (from The Atlantic magazine). Laura Bliss wrote an article called “What makes nature look natural?” which can be found, here: http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/01/what-makes-nature-look-natural/384202/.


In the March 28th (2014) news report by School Transportation News, Ryan Gray wrote an article about our research on how people pay attention to motor vehicles. The article was entitled “Study looks at how motorists pay attention to school buses”.