By Neil Nachbar
Bryan Reimer, who received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering from the University of Rhode Island, has been named the 2019 recipient of the Jack A. Kraft Innovator Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).
The award recognizes those who have made significant efforts to extend or diversify the application of human factors principles and methods to new areas of endeavor.
”It’s quite an honor to receive a professional award of this magnitude and have my name added to a list of human factors leaders that have shaped the profession,“ said Dr. Reimer. “My years at URI provided me with key engineering foundations and the initial basis for over two decades of work in transportation safety that lead to this award.”
Reimer received his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering in 1997, his master’s degree in manufacturing engineering in 1999 and his doctorate in industrial and manufacturing engineering in 2003.
As a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Transportation and Logistics, Reimer directs a multi-disciplinary team that explores human centered topics in vehicle automation, robotics and artificial intelligence, the mechanics of driver attention, vehicle and roadway safety, and future trends in automated mobility.
“Bryan is nationally recognized for his contributions to driver safety research and semi-automated driving,” said URI Professor Manbir Sodhi, a former faculty advisor of Reimer. “This award confirms the value of his work.”
The URI alumnus gave a talk on “Automated or Autonomous: What Might Today’s Vehicles Tell Us About the Future?” at a seminar in Sweden on May 17. He’s also been a contributing writer for Forbes. In 2018, Reimer gave a TEDx talk in Waltham on “There’s more to the safety of driverless cars than AI.”
Reimer will receive the award at HFES’ annual meeting from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 in Seattle, Washington.
With 4,500 members in 58 countries, HFES is the world’s largest scientific association for human factors/ergonomics professionals.