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Dr. Alan Hobbs – NESC Academy Biography

Alan Hobbs is a Senior Research Associate with the San Jose State University Foundation, conducting collaborative research in the Human Systems Integration Division at Ames Research Center.  His current areas of work include human factors in maintenance, human factors of remotely operated systems, and the implications of human error for the robustness of complex systems.  

Dr. Hobbs has over ten years’ experience as a human performance investigator at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), where he investigated aviation and rail transport accidents.  As a consultant, he has advised on error management and investigation in a range of sectors, including mining, natural gas, rail, airline maintenance, and air traffic control.  Dr. Hobbs has published extensively on human factors in maintenance, and his work in this field was recognized with a Royal Aeronautical Society “Aerospace Journalist of the Year” award.  He is the co-author, with Professor James Reason, of the book “Managing Maintenance Error.” Dr. Hobbs is a private pilot, and holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of New South Wales, Australia.