The Committee on Human Factors was established in October 1980 by the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education of the National Research Council. The principal objectives of the committee are to provide new perspectives on theoretical and methodological issues, to identify basic research needed to expand and strengthen the scientific basis of human factors, and to encourage the use of human factors principles and practices in the development of products and systems. Since its inception, the committee has issued more than a dozen reports regarding human factors applications, the state of knowledge, and research needs on topics deemed important by the committee and its sponsors.

The field of human factors provides a systematic approach to accommodating the capabilities and limitations of people in equipment design and training. Researchers in the field conduct studies that describe people's sensorimotor, cognitive, psychophysical, and anthropometric characteristics. The data from these studies are used by practitioners in conjunction with the results of targeted user studies to design work environments, to make equipment compatible with the intended user, and to develop effective training. Human factors issues arise in every domain in which people interact with the products of a technological society. To perform its role effectively, the committee draws on experts from a wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines. Members of the committee include specialists in such fields as psychology, engineering, biomechanics, physiology, medicine, cognitive sciences, machine intelligence, computer sci-