February 8, 1996

DR. VERN ELLINGSTAD TO HEAD NTSB'S OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING

(Washington, DC) -- Chairman Jim Hall announced today the appointment of Dr. Vernon Ellingstad as the Director of the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) Office of Research and Engineering.

Ellingstad was the Deputy Director of that Office since he came to the Safety Board in June, 1990 and had been serving as Acting Director since last August.

Before coming to the Safety Board, Ellingstad served as Professor of Psychology, Chairman of the Psychology Department, and Director of the Human Factors Laboratory at the University of South Dakota. He had been involved in a variety of transportation research including laboratory and on-the-road studies of driver performance, as well as program evaluation studies of the US DOT's Alcohol Safety Action Projects. His research in the University of South Dakota Human Factors Laboratory also focused on a variety of human factors issues in information displays for computer controlled systems.

A native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Ellingstad received his B.A. degree in Psychology from the Wisconsin State University at Eau Claire in 1965 and his Ph.D. degree in Human Factors Psychology from the University of South Dakota in 1969. He is currently a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society.

"Ellingstad brings with him the experience and proven abilities to keep that Office running smoothly" Chairman Hall stated. In addition to it's safety studies, public inquiries and data analysis functions, that office maintains the Board's computer system and houses the Cockpit Voice Recorder, Flight Data Recorder and materials laboratories critical to our accident investigations.

Media Contact: Julie Beal
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