Brandon Pitts
Purdue University
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan (UM), Ann Arbor, MI, 2016
M.S.E., Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2013
B.S., Industrial Engineering, Louisiana State University (LSU), Baton Rouge, LA, 2010
Engineer-In-Training License (E.I.T. #30330), State of Louisiana, 2011
Campaign Statement
I am honored to be nominated to serve as At-Large Member for HFES. I have been proud to call HFES my professional home since joining the Society in 2011. Over the past 15 years, HFES has provided invaluable opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, leadership and lifelong professional relationships that have significantly shaped my career. Throughout my career, I have worked to bring people together, translate ideas into action and build communities that help others succeed. I would bring these same values to the Executive Council.
I am the Elliott Sigal Rising Star Associate Professor and Director of the Next-generation Human-systems and Cognitive Engineering (NHanCE) Lab in the Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University. My research program focuses on human interaction with increasingly intelligent technologies across transportation, healthcare and leisure environments, with special emphasis on aging and ability-limited populations. Through collaborations with numerous government agencies, industry and international partners, such as NSF, FAA, USDOT, ARPA-H, NASEM, Ford, Boeing and ETRI (South Korea), I have gained experience building multidisciplinary teams and advancing initiatives that span academia, practice and policy.
My service to HFES has included roles as Surface Transportation Technical Group (STTG) Program Chair, Vice Chair and current Chair, as well as reviewer and judge for HFES proceedings and several best student papers. I am also an elected Editorial Board Member for the HFES journal publication. Beyond HFES, I have gained leadership and strategic planning experience through advising graduate and undergraduate student organizations and honor societies at Purdue, where I have helped to set strategic priorities, build communities, develop future leaders and translate member feedback into meaningful initiatives.
I am excited about the future. As our profession evolves amid rapid advances in AI and an increasingly changing global landscape, HFES has a pivotal opportunity to strengthen its position as the premier professional home for human factors and ergonomics.
If elected to the Executive Council (EC), I will:
- Represent the broad interests of HFES by listening carefully to our members, creating new pathways for communication, identifying emerging opportunities, championing innovative solutions and working collaboratively with the EC to advance HFES's mission.
- Advocate for initiatives that increase member engagement, expand opportunities for students and early-career professionals, strengthen our technical groups and foster collaboration across academia, industry, government and the international community.
- Commit to fostering a Society where members at EVERY career stage feel welcomed, connected, and empowered to contribute. Whether through our technical groups, mentoring opportunities, leadership pathways, or year-round engagement, I want every member to see HFES not only as a professional society, but also as a community where they can build long-lasting relationships and make meaningful contributions, just as I have.
HFES has invested tremendously in me throughout my career. It would be a great honor to serve on the Executive Council and help shape the Society's future for the next generation of human factors professionals.