Staff Expertise

Nichole is the Director of the Human Factors Safety Laboratory and Associate Research Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. She is also a research scholar at the Center for Transportation Studies, a graduate faculty member of the UMN Human Factors and Ergonomics Program, and a member of the Translational Center for Resuscitative Trauma Care. She has secured funding as PI on 21 research contracts and as Co-PI on 14 additional research contracts and grants. Her research has examined in-vehicle coaching systems for teens and older drivers, in-vehicle warning systems for work zone and curve speed notifications, lane guidance for snowplow operators, usability and design of crash reports and work zone intrusion report interfaces; stakeholder perceptions of non-traditional traffic treatments; and behavioral adaptations to connected vehicles technology. 

Research Focus: Project management, crash reporting, crash prevention, user-centered design, perception, judgment and decision-making.

Interests: Skiing, low-maintenance gardening, 30 Rock quotes for every occasion, shallow water diving, sparkling water connoisseur.

Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (CV): Click Here

UMN Faculty Page: Nichole Morris

Brian Davis is the Associate Director of the Human Factors Safety Laboratory. His research focuses on the development of enabling technologies for connected and automated vehicle applications. This work has included the development and integration of systems including GPS/GNSS, cellular networks, LIDAR, RADAR, embedded computing, machine learning, and computer vision for applications in roadway mapping, driver assist and lane departure warning, vehicle telemetry, work zone safety, connected vehicles, and mobile safety data reporting and analysis. Brian is a Center for Transportation Studies Research Scholar and the vehicle manager for the MnCAV Ecosystem connected and automated research vehicle.

Research Focus: Project management, GPS/GNSS, LIDAR, connected vehicles, and mobile safety data.

Interests: Family, good luck charms, the history of corn and corn products, Friday afternoon catastrophizing. 

Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (CV): Click Here

Curtis Craig is a Research Associate in the Human Factors Safety Laboratory.  He has served as PI or Co-I for a variety of studies focused on driver safety and pedestrian safety, along with use errors in healthcare. His research focuses on applying knowledge of human cognition to improve performance and safety in high-risk tasks. Specialties include attention, mental workload, skill acquisition, expertise, and comprehension and how those concepts translate to real-world situations.  He is a Center for Transportation Studies Research Scholar and a Certified Human Factors Professional (BCPE).

Research Focus: Cognitive ergonomics, attention and memory, transportation and pedestrian safety, healthcare and medicine, expertise and situation awareness, human or user error.

Interests: Derailing meetings with dad jokes while not being a dad, existential dread and doomscrolling, pretentiousness of all kinds, buying books and not reading them, imposter syndrome.

Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (CV): Click Here

Bradley is an Assistant Scientist in the Human Factors Safety Laboratory and a graduate student in the Human Factors & Ergonomics program at the University of Minnesota. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. His previous research includes advancing understanding of tissue mechanical properties, assessing driver behavior in high-risk scenarios such as pedestrian yielding and work zones, and mitigating gender bias in military medicine. Brad’s current research interests include furthering medical training to improve skill transfer and advancing automation via streamlining human-to-machine interactions when human intervention is required. 

Research Focus: Human-systems interactions, technical skill assessment, safety data collection methods, and safety improvement in transportation and healthcare

Interests: Metal bands, moshing / slam dancing, attending sporting events for whatever city he's visiting, LA Knight

Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (CV): Click Here

Peter is the driving Simulation Manager and programmer for the Human Factors Safety Laboratory. A professional in simulation and visualization, Peter's work has focused on the development of virtual environments to research a variety of human factors issues in transportation, including driver impairment, in-vehicle driver-assistive systems, and roadway design. His work has been directed at collaborating with human factors and transportation researchers to effectively create and utilize simulation environments.

Research Focus: Advanced visualization techniques, complex virtual environments, virtual transportation environments.

Interests: Custodian of HFSL history and knowledge, surviving multiple director regimes, watching psychologists spin their wheels and pretend to be engineers, and horses.

Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (CV): Click Here

Brandon is a Systems Analyst in the Human Factors Safety Laboratory and a graduate student in the  Department of Computer Science & Engineering. He holds Bachelor's degrees in Computer Science and Theater from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. His graduate studies are focused on AI, cognitive science, and game development. His work with the lab includes mobile application development, website development, and software engineering solutions for a variety of human factors projects. 

Research Focus: Things, stuff, nouns, possibly adjectives. Probably involving computer science and engineering.

Interests: Being chaotic with tropical shirts. Only tropical shirts. Nothing else.

Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (CV): Click Here

Will is an Assistant Scientist in the Human Factors Safety Laboratory. He graduated with his Bachelor's degree in Psychology, with a minor in Critical Thinking, from Minnesota State University in Mankato. His previous research investigated the interrelationship of stable personality traits, substance use, and abuse with survey methods. Currently, Will is working on improving reporting systems for both road crashes and bus stop-arm violations, as well as investigating risks for vulnerable populations from sources such as automated vehicles.

Research Focus: Safety in public transportation, automated vehicles, applied psychology, crash reporting, and interface design

Interests: Well-being and health, critical thinking, school buses (the more yellow the better), making a difference, the weather "up here".

Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (CV): Click Here

Marshall is an Assistant Scientist in the Human Factors Safety Laboratory. He received his Bachelor's degree in Urban Studies, with a minor in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Previous research includes studying Twin Cities residents' priorities for urban green space access and assessing driver and pedestrian conflicts. Marshall's current research projects include improving detectability and safety for e-scooter users and minimizing gender disparities in trauma care. He is a member of the ME Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Research Focus: Urban studies, street safety for pedestrians and cyclists, transportation planning and safety.

Interests: Saving a lot of money by living in a very inexpensive place, Russian literature, being poolside, watching very long videos of traffic at intersections, and counting drivers turning right. 

Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (CV): Click Here

Katelyn is an Assistant Scientist in the Human Factors Safety Laboratory. Katelyn holds a Master’s degree in Applied Social Psychology and is a graduate student in the Human Factors and Ergonomics doctorate program at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include exploring how aspects of human factors psychology are used to understand driver acceptance and the use of new technology, as well as aid in the design and testing of new tools to increase user satisfaction and performance.

Research Focus: Technology acceptance, user satisfaction, surveys and survey design, crash reporting, emergency medicine and tactical field care, gender and race disparities in injury outcomes.

Interests: Spending time with family, reading, yoga, running, going for long walks, barely tolerating the unmitigated gall of Reviewer #2, the quiet early morning hours. 

Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (CV): Click Here