Study Committee Biographical Information
H. Norman Abramson, Chair, is Executive Vice President Emeritus of Southwest Research Institute. He is internationally known in the field of theoretical and applied mechanics. His specific area of expertise is in the dynamics of contained liquids in astronautical, nuclear, and marine systems. He began his career as an Associate Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at Texas A&M University and has served as Vice President and Governor of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He is an AIAA Fellow and Fellow and Honorary Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. As a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), he served on its council from 1984 to 1990. He has been appointed to many other NAE and National Research Council (NRC) committees, including the Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems (CETS) Committee on R&D Strategies to Improve Surface Transportation Security, the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB’s) Research and Technology Coordinating Committee, and TRB’s Committee on the Federal Transportation R&D Strategic Planning Process, all of which he served as chair. He served as a member of the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board from 1986 to 1990. Dr. Abramson earned a Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from the University of Texas.
Donald W. Bahr retired in 1994 as Manager of Combustion Technology, GE Aircraft Engines. He is an expert in gas turbine and ramjet technologies for both aircraft propulsion and industrial applications. His expertise includes small aircraft engine technologies, especially with regard to their pollutant emission characteristics and technologies for the abatement of these emissions. He began his career with GE in 1956 as a combustion chemical engineer and became Manager of Combustion Technology in 1968. He has served on several NRC committees and panels, including the CETS Committee on High Speed Research and the Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources Panel on Atmospheric Effects of Aviation. He was a chair of the emissions project group of the Aerospace Industries Association and a member of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s Environmental Committee. He was an industry delegate to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection. Mr. Bahr earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Marlin Beckwith retired in 2000 as Manager of the Aeronautics Program in the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). He began his career with Caltrans in 1964 and has held a series of administrative and management positions of increasing responsibility. As manager of the aeronautics program, he oversaw the state’s airport grant and loan program and supervises the permitting and inspection of helicopter facilities and public-use airports. He also worked with local governments concerned about airport noise and was responsible for ensuring the integration of state and national aviation system plans. He earned a B.A. degree from the University of Idaho and was an officer in the U.S. Army before joining Caltrans.
Max E. Bleck retired in 1996 as President of Raytheon Corporation, a position he had held since 1991. From 1987 to 1991, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Beech Aircraft Corporation. He was previously President of Cessna Aircraft Company and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Gates Learjet Corporation. From 1968 to 1985, he held several top management positions at Piper Aircraft Company, including President, CEO, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Vice President. Earlier in his career, he held several top management and engineering positions at Cessna, including General Manager and group Vice President. He began his career in 1950 at Stanley Aviation Corporation, where he attained the position of Vice President of Engineering. Mr. Bleck earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Daniel Brand is Vice President of Charles River Associates, Inc. He has served as Undersecretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Associate Professor of City Planning at Harvard University, and Senior Lecturer in the MIT Civil Engineering Department. He was a member of TRB’s Committee for a Study to Assess Advanced Vehicle and Highway Technologies and its Committee for High-Speed Surface Transportation in the United States. He has also chaired three TRB standing committees: the Committee on New Transportation Systems and Technology, the Committee on Passenger Travel Demand Forecasting, and the Committee on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). He was a founding member of the Coordinating Council of ITS America and serves on three of its technical advisory committees. He was editor of Urban Transportation Innovation and coeditor of Urban Travel Demand Forecasting. Mr. Brand earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from MIT.
Walter S. Coleman recently retired as President of the Regional Airline Association (RAA), which represents U.S. regional and commuter airlines and suppliers of products and services that support the industry. He served as RAA’s President for 8 years and before that was Director and Vice President of Operations for the Air Transport Association. From 1976 to 1981 he was Director of the Airline Reservation Center of the Airline Scheduling Committees. He began his airline career in 1968 with Pan American World Airways, serving as a pilot, flight engineer, and superintendent of schedule development. He was a pilot in the U.S. Navy from 1960 to 1968 and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1970 to 1986. Mr. Coleman earned a B.A. degree in business administration from Ohio University.
James W. Danaher recently retired as Chief of the Operational Factors Division of the Office of Aviation Safety, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). He has more than 35 years of government and industry experience in the human factors and safety fields. After joining NTSB in 1970, he served in various management positions, with an emphasis on human performance in flight operations and air traffic control. He has participated in on-scene investigations of numerous accidents, public hearings, and the development of NTSB recommendations. He is a former naval aviator and holds a commercial pilot’s license with single-engine, multiengine, and instrument ratings. Among other NRC assignments, he served on the Panel on Human Factors in Air Traffic Control Automation for the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Mr. Danaher earned a master’s degree in experimental psychology from Ohio State University.
John J. Fearnsides is a Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University and Senior Strategic Consultant with Lockheed Martin Corporation. Until 1999, he was Vice President and General Manager of the MITRE Corporation and Director of its Senior Center for Advanced Aviation System Development, which is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration. He worked at the U.S. Department of Transportation from 1972 to 1980, serving as Deputy Undersecretary and Chief Scientist, Executive Assistant to the Secretary, and Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs. He was a National Science Foundation Fellow and is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the National Academy of Public Administration. He has served as a member of several NRC and TRB committees, including the Committee for a Review of the National Automated Highway System Consortium Research Program. Dr. Fearnsides earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland.
John D. Kasarda is a Kenan Distinguished Professor of Management of the Kenan-Flagler Business School and Director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He has published more than 60 scholarly articles and 9 books on aviation infrastructure, logistics, and competitiveness issues. He serves on the editorial boards of several professional journals and has served on a number of NRC committees. He has received grants and awards from the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and many other organizations. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Senior Fellow and Trustee of the Urban Land Institute. Dr. Kasarda earned his B.S. and M.B.A. from Cornell University and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina.
Charles A. Lave is Professor of Economics and Director of the Graduate Program in Transportation Sciences, Associate Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies, and Faculty Assistant to the Chancellor at the University of California, Irvine. He was chair of the economics department from 1978 to 1983 and chair of the Faculty of Social Sciences from 1978 to 1984. He has been a visiting scholar at Harvard University, MIT, and Stanford University. His area of expertise is transportation economics, and he has served on two TRB standing committees: the Committee on
Transportation Data and Information Systems and the Committee on Energy Conservation and Transportation Demand. He has also served as a member of TRB’s Committee for the Study of the Benefits and Costs of the 55-mph National Maximum Speed Limit, Committee for Guidance on Setting and Enforcing Speed Limits, and Committee for an International Comparison of National Policies and Expectations Affecting Public Transit. He has written extensively on highways, mass transit, and other modes of transportation. Dr. Lave earned a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University.
Nancy G. Leveson is Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she also heads the Software Engineering Research Laboratory. Before joining MIT in 1998, she was Boeing Professor of Computer Science at the University of Washington. Her work has focused on building software for real-time systems where failures can result in loss of life or property. She is a member of NAE and has served on several NRC committees. She is a member of CETS and chaired its Committee for a Study of the Space Shuttle Software Process. She was a member of TRB’s Committee for a Review of the National Automated Highway System Consortium Research Program. She is a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, which honored her with the 1999 Alan Newell Award for Cross-Disciplinary Research. In 1995, she was awarded the 1995 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Information Systems Award. Dr. Leveson earned a Ph.D. in computer science from UCLA.
Robert G. Loewy is the William T. Oakes Professor and Chair of the School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology. From 1978 to 1993 he was Institute Professor and from 1982 to 1993 he was Director of the Rotorcraft Technology Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He previously served as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs there. He began his academic career at the University of Rochester, where he was Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Sciences, Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Director of the Space Science Center. He was Chief Scientist for the Department of the Air Force and chaired the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Advisory Committee and the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. He has served on many NRC committees and most recently chaired the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board’s Committee for a Strategic Assessment of the U.S. Aeronautics Program. Dr. Loewy earned a Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from the University of Pennsylvania.
James G. O’Connor is former president of Pratt and Whitney, which designs and builds engines for commercial, military, and general aviation aircraft. He began his 34-year career with the company as an engineer and assumed positions of increasing responsibility in program management, manufacturing operations, and general management. He was promoted to CEO in 1989 and retired in 1993. He is currently chair of the Board of Trustees, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He is a member of NRC’s Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board and chaired its Committee on Aircraft Certification Safety Management. He is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, the President’s Advisory Council of Clemson University,
and the Wings Club. He earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Herbert H. Richardson is Director of the Texas Transportation Institute; Associate Vice Chancellor for Engineering, the Texas A&M University System; and Associate Dean of Engineering, Texas A&M University. He is also Regents Professor and Distinguished Professor of Engineering at the university. From 1991 to 1993 he was Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. Before joining Texas A&M in 1984, he was Associate Dean of Engineering at MIT, where he began his academic career in 1955. He was head of MIT’s Mechanical Engineering Department from 1974 to 1982. On leave from MIT, he was Chief Scientist for the U.S. Department of Transportation from 1970 to 1972. He has served on many NAE and NRC committees, including the Council of the NAE and the NRC Governing Board. He chaired TRB’s Executive Committee, Committee for the Critique of the Federal Research Program on Magnetic Levitation Systems, and Committee for the Study of the Railroad Tank Car Design Process. He was Cochair of the TRB Committee for the Study of Geometric Design Standards for Highway Improvements and Vice Chair of the Committee for a Review of the National Automated Highway System Consortium Research Program. Dr. Richardson earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from MIT.
Daniel T. Wormhoudt is Vice President of Environmental Science Associates (ESA) and Director of its Airports and Ports Facilities Business Group. Before joining ESA, he was president of MAP, Inc. Both firms specialize in environmental, land use, and transportation and energy facility siting issues. He has led several studies of the noise and other environmental impacts associated with both large and small airports. He is Chair of the TRB Task Force on the Environmental Impacts of Aviation and is active in many airport-related organizations, including the Airport Consultants Council. He earned a master’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
