Stephen Popkin

About Stephen Popkin

I am an accomplished research manager with more than two decades of experience in transportation safety and human factors. As a leading authority on fatigue management and transportation safety, I serve on several national and international research commissions and professional organizations. While my work is highly technical, my motivation is ensuring that transportation systems are designed for the safety and health of the human beings who operate, use, and maintain them. In my current role, I provide strategic direction to more than 500 professionals at the United States Department of Transportation’s John A. Volpe Transportation Research Center. The Center’s work is multi-modal, having positive influences on the aviation, rail, highway, maritime, pipeline and transit sectors. As a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute, I am committed to leadership excellence in the public sector as well as advancing transportation innovation for the public good.

Experience

1. Director for Research and Innovative Technology

   U.S. DOT Volpe Center

   Dec 2016 — Present · Cambridge, MA, US

   As a member of the Volpe Center’s senior leadership team, I support and oversee the entire technical staff and portfolio of client-sponsored research at the Volpe Center. As a federal organization, the Volpe Center specializes in addressing those complex questions and topics that span all modes of transportation and for which there is no straightforward solution. Topical areas of investigation include, but are not limited to:• Human factors;• Safety management;• Environmental streamlining;• Economic competitiveness and regulatory analysis;• Planning and policy analysis; • Program evaluation;• Infrastructure engineering; and• Technology innovation and deployment. In my role as Deputy Director for Research & Technology, I provide strategic direction to a staff of more than 500 professionals engaged in data analysis, systems research and prototyping, program development and evaluation, regulatory analysis, environmental modeling, and other activities.The Volpe Center’s work has national significance for the transportation enterprise. Thus, my position includes setting and ensuring quality assurance standards for all technical products. I also work closely with senior managers to build and enhance relationships with project sponsors to help agencies and organizations meet their goals and connect to the right resources, both within and outside of the Volpe Center.

Education

• University of Connecticut

  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Industrial and Organizational Psychology

  1999

• University of Helsinki

  Department of Work Physiology, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

  1991 — 1991

• Penn State University

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Psychology

  1984 — 1988