As part of a five-year grant from The Boeing Company, Professor Zelda Zabinsky and Affiliate Professor Joyce Yen have been developing analytical models that will help address high air traffic volume under stochastic weather conditions. By offering solutions that can withstand some of this uncertainty, better use can be made of the airspace, therefore reducing delays and the impact of propagating effects.
At the Human Factors and Statistical Modeling Lab, Professor Linda Ng Boyle's research emphasis is on investigating how people's behavior impacts their risks of injuries and mishaps. This includes exploring why drivers crash and why operator errors occur. Professor Boyle and her research assistants use a wide range of innovative analytical approaches to solve problems related to human factors and transportation systems.
- Human Interface Technology (HIT) Lab
The HIT Lab was established in 1989 by Professor Tom Furness. Over the past 15 years the lab has advanced interfaces between humans and machines. The lab fosters a multidisciplinary environment involving 100 faculty, staff, and students from the College of Engineering, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, College of Oceans and Fisheries, and School of Medicine. In 2002, the UW entered into a partnership with Canterbury Development Corporation and University of Canterbury to establish a HIT Lab NZ based in Christchurch, New Zealand. UW doctoral graduate, Mark Billinghurst, was named the director. Other HIT Labs are being planned for Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, and France. The federation of HIT Labs will promote collaborative projects, merging of intellectual property, and exchanges of students.
- Production and Service Systems Laboratory
The Production and Service Systems Laboratory is a knowledge center for production and service systems analysis and design that will foster cooperation among interested members of the academic and local communities, non-profit organizations, and commercial industry.