Cognitive Systems Engineering (PDF)

Dr. Peter K. Forster is Associate Dean for Online and Professional Education and a member of the graduate faculty, in the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) at Penn State. He is member of IST's Multidisciplinary Initiatives in Naturalistic Decision Systems (MINDS) Center and the Center for Enterprise Architecture working on risk and crisis management including using simulations and tabletop exercises to improve command and control. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science (International Relations), has affiliate status with the School of International Affairs, and is the co-chair of the NATO/OSCE Partnership for Peace Consortium Combating Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) which brings academics and practitioners together to develop policy recommendations on counter-terrorism strategy and tactics.

Dr. Forster's primary areas of research and teaching interests are terrorism/counter-terrorism, risk and crisis management, international relations and national security and homeland security. Most recently, Forster developed and facilitated a tabletop exercise involving representatives from 40 countries under the auspices of the CTWG. These events are being repeated in a number of PfPC countries. Since 2010, he has been the principle investigator on a grant exploring integrating processes and technologies to improve law enforcement's situational awareness of major issues such as human trafficking. He also oversees a research project on improving the understanding of how extremist organizations' recruit, vet, and integrate Americans.

During his career, Dr. Forster has been involved in security sector reform initiatives including defense institution building in the Caucasus and South Central Europe as well as consulting on national distance education initiatives in Central Asia and the Caucasus. He is the co-author and contributing author to books on NATO's military burden sharing and intervention and cognitive systems including Multinational Military Intervention, Stephen J. Cimbala & Peter K. Forster and Policy, Strategy & War: The George W. Bush Defense Program, Stephen J. Cimbala Ed. and Cognitive Systems Engineering Michael D, McNeese & Peter K. Forster, Eds. (forthcoming). He has published articles on technology and terrorism, understanding distributed team cognition, homeland security, and American foreign policy and interests in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Dr. Forster has extensive experience in online education including program design, development, and implementation. He consulted on developing national online programs in Central Asia and corporate program nationally and internationally, and continues to teach online for Penn State. Dr. Forster teaches courses on crisis and risk management, cyber-crime, terrorism, and war; counter-terrorism, the impact of information on 21st century society, war and conflict, and the international relations of the Middle East.