SJSU Supports NASA-Ames Human Factors Research

Long before the National Transportation Safety Board identified crew fatigue in 1992 as a primary contributor to aviation accidents, SJSU researchers were collaborating with NASA scientists to investigate the role of human error in flight accidents and air transportation safety.

According to Kevin Jordan, SJSU Professor of Psychology and Project Director of several cooperative agreements with NASA based at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, it has been the University's focus on applied research and its ability to adapt to NASA's and the aviation industry's changing needs that have sustained this 30-plus year relationship.

Among the human factors examined by Jordan's 100-member research team are crew decision-making and communication, fatigue countermeasures, visual and auditory motion perception, and human-systems integration. A recent product of this long-standing partnership is NASA's Taxiway Navigation and Situation Awareness (T-NASA) system, a suite of cockpit displays that provides critical navigation and situational awareness information to pilots in order to increase safety and efficiency on airport taxiways and runways.

The NASA-Ames Research Center has invested over $50 million since the inception of its research partnership with San José State University. Today, three cooperative agreements that provide $7.1 million in funding enable the investigation of human automation integration, human information management, and system safety research – all focused on making scientific contributions to safer air travel.

For more information contact Professor Jordan at [email protected].