Bryan Reimer

Bryan Reimer, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist in the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, a researcher in the AgeLab, and the Associate Director of The New England University Transportation Center. His research seeks to develop theoretical and applied insight into driver behavior by fusing together traditional psychological methods with big data analytics in computer vision, deep learning, and predictive modeling. His work leverages laboratory experimentation, driving simulation, field testing, and naturalistic driving studies to develop a comprehensive understanding of visual, physiological, behavioral, and overall performance characteristics associated with how drivers respond to the increasing complexity of the modern operating environment. His work aims to find solutions to the next generation of human factors challenges associated with driver attention management, distraction, automation and the use of advanced driver assistance systems to maximize mobility and safety. He is an author on over 200 technical contributions in transportation and related human factors areas.

He founded and leads three academic-industry partnerships: the Advanced Human Factors Evaluator for Attentional Demand (AHEAD) consortium, aimed at developing the next generation of driver attention measurement tools; the Advanced Vehicle Technology (AVT) consortium, focused on developing an understanding of driver use of emerging vehicle technologies including production level automated driving systems; and the Clear Information Presentation (Clear-IP) consortium, that is exploring the impact of typographical and other design characteristics on usability (color, display conditions, etc.) in glance based environments such as the automotive interface and smartphones.

He collaborates with industries worldwide on the topics of driver safety, vehicle automation and other human factors related technological concerns. In addition to his work with students and a multi-disciplinary team at MIT, he is an active consultant to the entrepreneurial community and regularly featured in the press as an expert in automotive safety and a mobility futurist. Dr. Reimer is regularly a featured speaker at conferences, symposiums, industry events and academic venueshas. He has provided several keynote addresses on the topics of driver attention and vehicle automation. In February 2016, he hosted a conversation with Mark Rosekind, Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, titled “The Present and Future of Automated Driving: Technology, Policy, and the Human Factor.”

His research has been featured in the press including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, NBC News, Reuters, The Associated Press, Wired, Gizmodo, MIT Technology Review, Discovery Channel, BBC Horizon, Fast Company, The Boston Globe and Science News, among others. A Boston Globe Magazine First Person article “MIT AgeLab scientist Bryan Reimer on the perils of driver distraction” provided his views on automotive safety research. Science Careers featured Dr. Reimer in a Career Profile, “Focus on Aging: Engineering Safer Drivers”. A BBC Horizon documentary, “Surviving a Car Crash,” focused on his work as a key innovation in the future of automotive safety. He is a Contributor to Forbes.

Along with members of Congress, a governor, state senator, two CEOs, and several other leaders deeply concerned with the future of transportation, Dr. Reimer has been honored with an inaugural 2018 Autos2050 Impact Award for his innovative contributions to the automotive industry. His academic contributions have been acknowledged through several paper awards including a highly selective 2017 best paper award at CHI.

His work has been supported by Toyota, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Honda, Ford Motor Company, Subaru R & D, Mazda, Volvo Cars, Autoliv, Aptiv (Delphi), Denso, Panasonic Automotive, Takata, The Hartford, Liberty Mutual, Agero, Google, Monotype Imaging, the Santos Family Foundation, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, AARP, Johnson & Johnson, Shire Pharmaceuticals, and the United States Department of Transportation.

He is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, an M.S. in Manufacturing Engineering and a Ph.D. in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.