RELEVANCE: Where are we are going anyway?

RELEVANCE: Where are we are going anyway? William S. Marras President Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Relevance 1

Background Conditions: Change: 2

R&D as a Percent of Federal Budget (FY 1962-2017, in outlays) Trends in Federal R&D As a percent of GDP 3

U.S. Population Growth (per U.S. Census) U.S. Population Federal R&D Funding By Performer (1967-2016) Obligations in billions of constant FY 2016 dollars 4

HF/E World Wide Challenges Very small field 100,000,000 managers 50,000,000 engineers 15,000,000 M.D.s 500,000 psychologists 25,000 ergonomists (3 per 1 million people) Very Small Professional Society IEEE 426,000 members / 1,165 staff Am. Medical Association 217,000 members (was 278,000 in 2002) Am. Psychological Assn. 150,000 members / 1115 staff AAAS - 137,000 members / 300 staff Society of Manufacturing Engineers 25,000 members / 160 staff IIE 15,000 members / 25 staff HFES 4,500 proud members / 6 staff 1/72,000 residents of the U.S. 5

Change can be Stressful Challenge How do we remain relevant and enhance our relevance given our size and economic constraints? Are we being lost in the rapid change? 6

Human - Systems Approach Human - Systems Approach 7

Human - Systems Approach Human - Systems Approach Customer service in Europe Designed in USA Made in China 8

and...people are Messy Human - Systems Approach: Consider the Context Performance Well Being CONTEXT 9

Messages from the Past Articulate our value proposition (Hendrick, 1996) We are always cleaning up messes and never leading (Woods, 1999) We need to embrace other groups problems and not simply expect everyone to come to us (big tent vs. little tent) (Howell, 2001) To mature our profession we must take our diverse disciplines and turn them into a system - Human System Engineering (Endsley, 2012) Society Vision outward facing (Imada, 2015) Our Vision for the Future We envision a future in which the reach, relevance, and quality of human factors/ ergonomics are greatly expanded by enriching the science and enhancing its impact on solving societal problems by embracing outward-facing collaborations 10

Our Vision for the Future We envision a future in which the reach, relevance, and quality of human factors/ ergonomics are greatly expanded by enriching the science and enhancing its impact on solving societal problems by embracing outward-facing collaborations Our Vision for the Future We envision a future in which the reach, relevance, and quality of human factors/ ergonomics are greatly expanded by enriching the science and enhancing its impact on solving societal problems by embracing outward-facing collaborations 11

Our Vision for the Future We envision a future in which the reach, relevance, and quality of human factors/ ergonomics are greatly expanded by enriching the science and enhancing its impact on solving societal problems by embracing outward-facing collaborations HFES Vision HF/E Science Core HSI Translation Cyber Security 12

To Achieve Vision we need a Strategy that Motivates Us Tie our Vision to BIG ideas Challenge ourselves with Global (Grand) Challenges Why Big Ideas/Challenges? A way to make sense of what research is about Imbedded are assumptions about what we value as a society (Calvert, 2013) Compelling and motivating (Kalil, 2012) Involve both basic and applied research; interdisciplinary; transdisciplinary and innovative (Kaldeway, 2015) Sound like HF/E? 13

Historical Examples of Grand Challenges Land a man on the moon in 10 years - Kennedy (1961) Try doing this without HF/E War on cancer - Nixon (1971) Build a super computer using Federal Funds (1980 s) 1 st appearance in U.S. Science policy Human Genome project (1990) Global Health Bill and Melinda Gates (2003) NAE Grand Challenges Chuck Vest (2008) Cure Cancer Obama/Biden (2016) NSF Big Ideas (2016) NSF Big Ideas 14

NSF Big Ideas NAE Grand Challenges Vision continue life on the planet as we know it Global Challenges Save the planet Bigger than engineering - informs us how engineering needs to change Dan Mote (Thursday at 10:30, Lincoln East) 15

NAE (14) Grand Challenges Make solar energy economical Provide energy from fusion Develop sequestration methods Manage the nitrogen cycle Provide access to clean water Restore and improve urban infrastructure Advance health informatics Engineer better medicines Reverse engineer the brain Prevent nuclear terror Secure cyberspace Enhance virtual reality Advance personalized learning Engineer the tools of scientific discovery NAE (14) Grand Challenges Sustain Environmental Soundness (Sustainability) Personal and Community Health Vulnerability Joy of Living (wellness) 16

Sustainability Problem In the face of a growing population we consume our finite resources at a rate that can not be sustained Challenges Need to develop and ADOPT new sources of energy while reversing the degradation of the environment (Solar/Nuclear Fusion) Environmental Concerns (Fertilizers/Nitrogen cycle) Water Quantity and Quality Potential HFE Roles Help public understand risk at various levels Understanding human decision making and biases Work with engineers to build usable systems for control of resources Human Health Problem Have solved many problems but problems remain (e.g. malaria) and some health solutions have created new more challenging problems (e.g. drug resistant bacteria, medical errors) Challenges Personalized medicine What factors determine sickness and wellness for an individual? Match treatments to specific genetic profile (people are messy and different) Develop methods to forecast causal pathways/treatments/side effects Reverse engineer the brain How is degeneration and healing triggered Health informatics interpretation tracking disease spread/trends Potential HFE Roles Clinical decision making Understand cognitive physical interactions Big Data interpretation How can the mind trick body into healing and prevention 17

Vulnerability Problem Pandemic disease, deadly bacteria, terrorist violence, and natural disasters require new methods of protection and prevention Challenges Early detection of threats & rapid deployment of countermeasures Aging infrastructures of cities and services Assaults on cyberspace, identify theft, and computer viruses How do we get societal acceptance of pollution controls Potential HFE Roles Understanding human capabilities, limitations, decision making, biases, and risk taking Public acceptance of public policy Design solutions compatible with human users Part of the engineering task will be discovering which approaches work best at ensuring user cooperation with new technologies Grand Challenges for Engineering, 2008 18

How do we do this? Call to Journal Editors We can do this! Call to TGs Call to members Get involved in other disciplines and get other disciplines involved with us The Society IS you I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. 19

Relevance Thank You! 20