Symposium the Work of the NAS/NRC Committee on Human Factors

Since 1980, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has had a standing committee on human factors as part of its operating agency, the National Research Council (NRC). The Committee on Human Factors, like other NRC committees, serves as an independent advisor to the federal government–identifying critical theoretical and methodological issues, defining the state of knowledge with regard to these issues, and determining research needs and their priorities. In this capacity, the Committee has the opportunity to provide new perspectives on human factors and to guide the direction and support of future human factors research and development. The purpose of this symposium is to provide an overview of the origins and purposes of the Committee on Human Factors, and to present examples of some of its recent work.