National Academies Press: OpenBook

An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service (2009)

Chapter: Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of the Committee Members

« Previous: Appendixes
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of the Committee Members." National Research Council. 2009. An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12795.
×

A
Biographical Sketches of the Committee Members

Vijayan N. Nair, Co-chair, is the Donald A. Darling Professor of Statistics and a professor of industrial and operations engineering at the University of Michigan. He has been the chair of the statistics department since 1998. Prior to that, he served as a research scientist at Bell Laboratories for 15 years. Dr. Nair’s area of expertise is engineering statistics, including quality and productivity improvement, experimental design, reliability, and process control. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Quality, the American Statistical Association, and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics; an elected member of the International Statistical Institute; and a senior fellow of the Michigan Society of Fellows. Dr. Nair is a former editor of Technometrics and the International Statistical Review and has served on many other editorial boards. He is currently vice president of the International Statistical Institute, chair of the Statistics Division of the American Society for Quality, and president-elect of the International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics. He is a former chair of the board of trustees of the National Institute of Statistical Sciences. He is a member of the NRC’s Board on Mathematical Sciences and Their Applications (BMSA), is serving as the current chair of another NRC Committee, and has served on several other committees. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Malaya, Malaysia, and a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of California, Berkeley.


Clinton V. Oster, Jr., Co-chair, is a professor at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University. His research focuses on air traffic management and aviation infrastructure, with an emphasis on aviation safety. His research also includes airline economics and competition policy. Professor Oster has co-authored four books on aviation safety and policy. He has been a consultant on aviation and other transportation issues to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the FAA, NASA, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, state and local governments, and private-sector companies in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Australia. He has participated in several NRC committees, serving as chair for four committees and one expert panel. Professor Oster is a member of the National Aviation Advisory Group of the U.S. Government Accountability Office and of the Aviation Network on Aviation Research and Policy for the Dutch Ministry of Transport. He served as the research director for the Aviation Safety Commission as well as the director of Indiana University’s Transportation Research Center and as associate dean at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He received a B.S.E. degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University, an M.S. in urban and public affairs from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of the Committee Members." National Research Council. 2009. An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12795.
×

David L. Banks is a professor of the practice of statistics at Duke University. Having worked at NIST, the BTS, and the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Banks’ statistical expertise is amplified by his understanding of some important federal government needs. He recently won the Roger Herriot Award for his unique approaches to the solution of statistical problems in federal data-collection programs. Dr. Banks is credited with pioneering the use of Bayesian statistics for metrology, with helping to build the BTS, and with leading efforts to apply statistical methods for risk analysis and game theory to counter bioterrorism. He has previously served as a member of the NRC’s Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics (CATS) and is currently a member of BMSA’s standing Committee on Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures. He received his Ph.D. in statistics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.


Robert M. Bell is a principal member of the technical staff of the Statistics Research Department at AT&T Laboratories. Previously, from 1980 to 1998, Dr. Bell was associate statistician, statistician, and senior statistician at the RAND Corporation. He also worked as the head of the RAND statistics group from 1993 to 1995. He is an expert in experimental design and survey development, data analysis, and statistical methodology. Dr. Bell recently served as chair of the NRC’s Panel on Correlation Bias and Coverage Measurement in the 2010 Census. He has previously served as a member on five other NRC committees, including the Committee on National Statistics, and served as chair of the Committee to Review the 2000 Decade Design of the Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System. He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and has also served as member and chair of the ASA Census Advisory Committee of Professional Associations. He received his B.S. in mathematics from Harvey Mudd College in 1972, his M.S. in statistics from the University of Chicago in 1973, and his Ph.D. in statistics in 1980 from Stanford University.


Johnny Blair is a senior survey methodologist and principal scientist at Abt Associates. He has conducted methodological research in a number of areas, including sampling from rare populations, measurement error in proxy reporting, data quality in converted refusal interviews, the use of incentives to increase response rates, and, most recently, the design and analysis of cognitive interviews for pretesting. Mr. Blair is co-author of the book Designing Surveys: A Guide to Decisions and Procedures. From 2001 to 2006, he served on the ASA Committee on Energy Statistics, which advises the Energy Information Administration in the establishment of survey design and instrument development. He is also a member of the Design and Analysis Advisory Committee to the Educational Testing Service for the National Assessment of Educational Progress.


Anthony J. Broderick is an independent aviation safety consultant who works with domestic and international airlines, aerospace firms, a major aircraft manufacturer, and governments. Before retiring from his post as associate administrator for regulation and certification in the FAA, Mr. Broderick served for 11 years as a senior aviation safety official in the U.S. government. He led the FAA’s development of the International Aviation Safety Assessment program and was also instrumental in leading international efforts to establish certification and operational standards for safety. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Broderick spent 14 years at the FAA and the DOT and 7 years in private industry. His portfolio also includes a background in civil aviation security; aviation environmental issues; management of the FAA evaluation, currency, and transportation flying programs; and oversight of the FAA flight inspection program. Mr. Broderick is a private pilot. He has received many awards and recognition for his work in the aeronautics industry and is a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He was previously a member of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board and has served on three other NRC studies: the Panel on Transportation for Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism, the Committee on Aeronautics Research and Technology for Environmental Compatibility, and the Committee to Conduct an Independent Assessment of the Nation’s Wake Turbulence Research and Development Program.


James Danaher retired in 1998 as chief of the Operational Factors Division of the Office of Aviation Safety, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). He has more than 35 years of government and industry experience in the human factors and safety fields. After joining NTSB in 1970, he served in various management positions, with a special emphasis on human performance in flight operations and air traffic control. Mr. Danaher has

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of the Committee Members." National Research Council. 2009. An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12795.
×

participated in the on-scene investigation of numerous accidents, in public hearings, and in the development of NTSB recommendations. He is a former naval aviator and holds a commercial pilot’s license with single-engine, multi-engine, and instrument ratings. Among other NRC assignments, he has served on the Committee for the Review of NASA’s Revolutionize Aviation Program (a committee that had interactions with the NAOMS project). Mr. Danaher holds a master’s degree in experimental psychology from Ohio State University.


Peter Griffiths is the regional vice president for Europe for the International Air Transport Association. He was previously director general of the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, a public corporation with the responsibility of overseeing and regulating all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. Mr. Griffiths joined the aviation industry in 1998 as a first officer flying a Boeing 737 aircraft for Go, a British Airways subsidiary, and went on to be a captain on Airbus aircraft. He was the security manager and then director of safety and security for easyJet, a low-cost airline based at London’s Luton Airport. Mr. Griffiths is a trained engineer; has a master’s degree in risk, crisis, and disaster management; and has qualifications in air accident investigation.


Iain M. Johnstone is a professor in the Departments of Statistics and of Health Research and Policy (Biostatistics) at Stanford University. His research interests include statistical decision theory, wavelet-like methods in estimation theory, and multivariate analysis. Dr. Johnstone was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005 for his fundamental contributions to the understanding of statistical procedure for the analysis of the enormously complex and multidimensional data that are arising in many fields. He previously served on BMSA. He holds an M.Sc. in probability and statistics and a B.Sc. in pure mathematics and statistics from Australian National University, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in statistics from Cornell University.


Karen Kafadar is the James H. Rudy Professor of Statistics and Physics at Indiana University, Bloomington. She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in statistics from Princeton University. Her research focuses on exploratory data analysis, robust methods, characterization of uncertainty in quantitative studies, and analysis of experimental data in the physical, chemical, biological, and engineering sciences. Prior to joining Indiana University, she was a professor and Chancellor’s Scholar in the Departments of Mathematical Sciences and of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics at the University of Colorado-Denver, a fellow at the National Cancer Institute (cancer screening section), and a mathematical statistician at Hewlett Packard Company (research and development laboratory for radio-frequency/microwave test equipment) and at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (where she continues as a guest faculty visitor on problems of measurement accuracy, experimental design, and data analysis). Dr. Kafadar’s previous engagements include consultancies in industry and government as well as visiting appointments at the University of Bath, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and Iowa State University. She has served on previous NRC committees and chaired CATS. She also serves on the editorial boards of several professional journals as editor or associate editor and on the governing boards of the ASA and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. She is a fellow of the ASA and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute, has authored more than 90 journal articles and book chapters, and has advised numerous M.S. and Ph.D. students.


Elizabeth A. Lyall has served as a consultant and contractor to the FAA on issues related to human factors issues of flight deck automation design, training, operations, and certification for more than 15 years. She founded Research Integrations, Inc., to be an independent voice for influencing flight safety by conducting and applying relevant research. She has served as a member of the International Harmonization Working Group to develop a new regulation addressing human factors in flight deck design for transport-category airplanes and is currently serving on the Flight Deck Automation Working Group that is identifying current and future safety and other operational issues with the design, training, operation, and certification of flight deck automated systems and their interaction in the current and future airspace. Research Integrations also has developed and maintains the website www.flightdeckautomation.com, which includes a searchable database of flight deck automation issues and related research findings for each of those issues. Dr. Lyall received her Ph.D. from Arizona State University.


Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of the Committee Members." National Research Council. 2009. An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12795.
×

Donald W. Richardson retired in 2005 as the vice president of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) responsible for all FAA and civil aviation corporate activities. He has been an active pilot for 59 years and possesses a breadth of experience with multi-engine land and seaplanes. His engineering career has included assignments as an aerodynamics and flight test engineer, research pilot, and engineering manager. He is a fellow and past president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), of which he has been a member for 58 years. He is also a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and has served on its Engineering Council. He was awarded the NASA Public Service Medal in 2002 for his work in reinvigorating U.S. federal funding in research and development in aeronautics. He holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in aeronautical and mechanical engineering.


Thomas B. Sheridan is Ford Professor of Engineering and Applied Psychology Emeritus in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is senior transportation fellow at the DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. Dr. Sheridan’s research interests include modeling and experiment on human-automation interaction in aviation, highway, medical, and other systems. He is the author or co-author of five books and more than 200 scientific papers. He served as president of the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society and as editor of IEEE Transactions on Man-Machine Systems; he received the IEEE’s Norbert Wiener and Joseph Wohl awards and the IEEE Centennial and Millennium Medals; and he is an IEEE fellow. Dr. Sheridan is also a fellow of the International Ergonomics Association and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), a recipient of several HFES awards, and a past president of HFES. He received the National Engineering Award of the American Association of Engineering Societies and the Oldenburger Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Dr. Sheridan has served as a member of several NRC committees, including the Committee for the Review of NASA’s Revolutionize Aviation Program (a committee that had interactions with the NAOMS project). He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Sheridan received his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, an M.S. degree in engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles, an Sc.D. degree from MIT, and an honorary doctorate from Delft University of Technology, Netherlands.


Alfred T. Spain retired as senior vice president of operations at JetBlue Airways Corporation in May 2006. Previously, he had served in various capacities at Continental Airlines, including as vice president of flight operations for Continental Micronesia, Inc. Mr. Spain is pilot-rated in numerous multi-engine and turbine-powered aircraft. Previously he had been a commercial pilot and instructor for more than 20 years. He is a senior member of the AIAA, a life member of the Navy League of the United States, and a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the Seaplane Pilots Association. He has experience in the senior management of flight operations for domestic and international airlines as well as civilian and military experience in safety applications for both flight and ground operations. Mr. Spain has a B.S. in professional aviation from Louisiana Technical University and an M.B.A. from Concordia University.


S. Lynne Stokes is a professor of statistical science at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Her current research interests are sampling methods, modeling of nonsampling errors in surveys, and disclosure limitation methods. Before working at Southern Methodist University, Dr. Stokes was a mathematical statistician at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at the Center for Social Science Research at the U.S. Bureau of the Census, and as faculty at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a fellow of the ASA and the past chair of the ASA’s Survey Research Methods Section. Dr. Stokes currently serves as the associate editor for Survey Methodology and has served as editor of The American Statistician. She has served on the NRC Committee on Review of Recreational Fisheries Survey Methods and on the Panel on Alternative Census Methodologies. She received her Ph.D. in statistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of the Committee Members." National Research Council. 2009. An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12795.
×
Page 49
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of the Committee Members." National Research Council. 2009. An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12795.
×
Page 50
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of the Committee Members." National Research Council. 2009. An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12795.
×
Page 51
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of the Committee Members." National Research Council. 2009. An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12795.
×
Page 52
Next: Appendix B: Individual Presenters to the Committee »
An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $51.00 Buy Ebook | $40.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

The National Research Council of the National Academies was requested by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to perform an independent assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service (NAOMS) project, which was a survey administered to pilots from April 2001 through December 2004.

The NRC reviewed various aspects of the NAOMS project, including the survey methodology, and conducted a limited analysis of the publicly available survey data. An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service presents the resulting analyses and findings.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!