Recruitment email

Email Recruitment
Hello,
The Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology is conducting a research study on the use of virtual reality for
hazardous materials training. Our project is called Digital Twins for Public Safety Training.
We would like you to participate in a virtual reality experiment where you will don a headset and
complete a training activity, followed by an assessment of the task. Participation will take
approximately 20 minutes for the experiment and 5-10 minutes for reviewing the information
consent and the user interface. Your participation in this research is voluntary.
If you decide to participate in the study, you may withdraw your consent and stop participation at
any time without penalty. To take part in this experiment, you need to be an active or retired
firefighter, 18 or older, and not part of a hazardous response team (e.g., hazmat tech).

The study will be conducted at the Public Safety Immersive Test Center in Boulder, CO. If you’d
like to participate you may use this link to schedule a date and time:
[Scheduling link here]
We will not collect your name or personal identifiers. When we report and share the data with
others, we will combine the data from all participants. There are minimal risks associated with
this study, including cybersickness, vertigo, and slips/trips/falls. The potential benefits of this
study are obtaining a foundational understanding of how to enhance virtual reality training,
knowledge capture, and immersive experiences for first responders.
If you would like to participate or have any questions, please contact the principal investigator,
Scott Ledgerwood, at Scott.Ledgerwood@nist.gov. If you have any questions about your rights
as a volunteer in this research, contact the NIST IRB at: rpoffice@nist.gov; 301-975-5445.