Human factors psychologist to be this year’s Waller Lecture keynote speaker

Chapel Hill, N.C. (Jan. 24, 2019) – Emanuel Robinson, Ph.D., a senior research scientist in the Transportation and Safety Research Group at Westat in Rockville, MD, will be this year’s keynote speaker for the Patricia F. Waller Lecture.

His lecture, “Information Systems in Motor Vehicles: How Much Tech is Too Much?” is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Hitchcock Multipurpose Room at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center. Robinson will present an overview of his work on information systems in vehicles, including examining how information is presented to drivers (e.g., safety warning systems in vehicles), and on-road studies of connected and automated vehicles (e.g., cars that use radio signals to communicate on the road).

This lecture is sponsored by the Injury Prevention Research Center, the Highway Safety Research Center, and the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience.

The Patricia F. Waller Lecture honors Dr. Patricia (Pat) F. Waller (1932-2003), the founding Director of the University of North Carolina (UNC) Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRC). Pat Waller’s career combined highway safety, injury prevention, and public health, through the lens of her training and clinical expertise in psychology. She exemplified the concept of interdisciplinary collaboration and was a critical thinker whose ideas were often ahead of their time. Her many interests included driver licensing, aging and driving, heavy truck safety, alcohol and safety, and impaired driving. Her work influenced policy and procedures for licensing young drivers throughout the world. She worked tirelessly to ensure that research findings were implemented through legislative and administrative measures and that injury prevention and public concerns were reflected in the national transportation agenda. Pat was devoted to mentoring and encouraging students and young researchers. The depth and vigor of her intellect and her passion for ensuring the policy decisions were based on science, influenced the career paths of numerous scientists.

For more information on Robinson’s work, click here.