Lia A. Dibello

As Research Director for WTRI, Dr. DiBello has developed many innovative (non-verbal) methods of assessing skill and business judgment among executives. She is the innovator behind the FutureView™ Profiler, which has been recognized as a theoretical and methodological breakthrough in knowledge elicitation and executive intelligence. It was also awarded an Innovative Technology Award by TechAmerica in 2008 and funded by research awards from the National Science Foundation.

DiBello is best known for the development of a particular kind of activity-based “strategic rehearsal” approach that has been shown to greatly accelerate learning through cognitive reorganization. Studies of over 7000 people at all levels exposed to DiBello’s methods indicate that learning was accelerated by several months in all cases. Other studies indicate that unprecedented performance improvements and significant competitive advantages were achieved by companies using DiBello’s methods. The method is now used globally in four continents in industries as diverse as mining, transportation, financial services, IT implementation, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals as well as others. Numerous articles have been published on its business benefits and theoretical significance in cognitive science.

DiBello received her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology at CUNY Graduate School in New York. She studied under the late Distinguished Professor Sylvia Scribner, a well-known pioneer in the area of workplace cognitive and the author of many now classic works Since she started directing the research at WTRI, she has been the recipient of 17 basic research funding awards from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and The Russell Sage Foundation.

Currently, both the assessment approach and the learning model are being tested by DiBello’s team in 3-D virtual world settings. Dr. DiBello has led over six virtual world development projects since 2007 that link advanced technology to Virtual Worlds for the purposes of business performance improvement and increased cognitive agility. This work has led to recognition from and formal research partnerships with virtual world developers, such as Linden Labs and SAIC. She also has several formal research partnerships with other scientists working to develop business applications that take advantage of advances in cognitive science.

In addition to her applied work in industry, Dr. DiBello has authored numerous journal articles, book chapters and presentations and, as a visiting professor, has taught several courses on the development of expertise, technology deployment and design, and accelerated organizational change. She is frequently invited as a speaker at conferences and professional meetings.