Paul Liston

Background

About Paul Liston

Chartered Ergonomist and Human Factors Specialist (C.ErgHF), Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors (FCIEHF), and Member of the Irish Human Factors & Ergonomics Society (MIHFES). I have over 20 years’ experience in applied research, consultancy, proposal writing, project coordination, and academic teaching. My work spans multiple high-impact sectors including aviation, maritime, energy, pharmaceuticals, and construction, and is grounded in an interdisciplinary approach that combines human factors, behavioural science, ethics, and policy analysis. I specialise in applying Ergonomics and Human Factors principles to complex, real-world problems—designing systems, policies, and technologies that are user-centred, socially responsive, and ethically robust. I have a strong track record of securing competitive research funding, with over €2.7 million awarded as Principal Investigator, and I serve as an Independent Expert Evaluator for EU research programmes. My current research focuses on understanding behaviour and decision-making in the context of energy use, AI governance, sustainable systems, and societal readiness. I’m particularly interested in developing tools and frameworks that enable responsible innovation, improve stakeholder trust, and align technical development with social needs. Specialties: energy behaviour and decision-making, human factors in safety-critical sectors, ethics and artificial intelligence (AI), Societal Readiness Levels (SRLs), responsible innovation, policy impact, sustainability transitions, virtual and augmented reality, resilience and competence development, innovation transfer.