News

HFES STTG Newsletter – August 2025 ▼

We’re excited to share the latest updates from the Surface Transportation Technical Group! This year we’ve added two new labs to our STTG Labs Directory, spotlighted ongoing advancements in transportation technology, and are preparing for our next quarterly member spotlight.

Meet Our Quarterly Spotlight

This quarter, we’re highlighting Dr. Shannon Roberts, whose research continues to shape how we think about driver assistance systems, automation, and human factors in transportation safety. Hear from Dr. Roberts and read more about her accomplishments

Stay tuned — our next Quarterly Spotlight is coming soon!

STTG Labs – New Additions!

We’ve recently added two new labs to our website’s Surface Transportation Research Labs Directory:

View the full list of labs here.

Announcements

Annual STTG Meeting at HFES: We’re returning to an in-person format for our annual meeting at the HFES International Annual Meeting. Details on time and location will be shared soon. We hope to see you there!

New Website Features: We’ve launched a News page on the STTG website to share announcements, keep you updated with industry news, and event recaps in a newsletter format. Check it regularly and help us spread the word on social media.

News from the Globe

Waymo maps Boston: Waymo has begun mapping Boston’s streets, expanding beyond its current operations in San Francisco, Austin, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, with future plans to enter Atlanta and Miami. Learn more here
Bedrock Robotics launches: A team of ex-Waymo engineers has launched Bedrock Robotics, raising $80 million to automate the construction industry. Learn more here
Tesla Liability: Tesla was found partially liable in a 2019 Autopilot accident, resulting in $243 million in damages. Learn more here
Uber’s Robotaxis: Uber will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Lucid and Nuro as part of a major robotaxi development partnership. Learn more here
Lyft & Baidu partnership: Lyft has partnered with Baidu to launch driverless cars in Europe. Learn more here
NHTSA Green-Lights Zoox: Zoox has become the first American-built vehicle company to receive an NHTSA exemption approval. Learn more here
Surface transportation reauthorization: Lawmakers in Congress have begun work on the next surface transportation reauthorization bill, which will determine funding levels and priorities for highway and transit projects over the coming years. Learn more here
DOT grants: Following a recent reauthorization hearing, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced $488 million in new grants for transportation projects across the country. Learn more here

Stay Connected

Keep up to date on our Technical Group by following us on social media!

HFES STTG Newsletter – November 2025 ▼

We’re excited to share the latest updates from the Surface Transportation Technical Group! This quarter we’re celebrating new leadership updates, spotlighting innovative research, and continuing to expand our Surface Transportation Research Labs Directory.

Announcements

ASPIRE Leadership Updates: The HFES ASPIRE Annual Meeting wrapped up just a month ago, and with it came the announcement of our incoming leadership. Join us in congratulating Dr. Brandon Pitts, who will serve as the 2026 STTG Chair, and Dr. Yiqi Zhang, who will take on the role of 2026 Annual Meeting Program Chair.

2024–2025 Award Recipients

2025 Best Student Paper Award
Yuan Cai, Caleb (M. Demir) Armstrong, Farzan Sasangohar, and Mohsen Zare
“Investigating Shifts in Driver Attention and Trust Across Manual and Autonomous Driving: Insights from Eye-Tracking Metrics”

2025 Stephanie Binder Award
Dengbo He
Assistant Professor, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)

2024 Stephanie Binder Award
Justin Mason
Assistant Research Scientist, Driving Safety Research Institute

Meet Our Quarterly Spotlight

This quarter, we’re highlighting Dr. Brandon Pitts, whose work in human–AI interaction, cognitive engineering, and transportation accessibility continues to inform next-generation human-centered design. Hear from Dr. Pitts and explore his path, projects, and insights

Stay tuned — our next Quarterly Spotlight is coming soon!

STTG Labs – New Addition!

We’ve recently added a new lab to our website’s Surface Transportation Research Labs Directory:

View the full list of labs here.

News from the Globe

Volkswagen Hit with $6B Loss: Delays in Porsche’s next-generation EV program resulted in a major financial setback for Volkswagen. Read more
Nvidia & Uber AV Partnership: Nvidia announced its Drive AGX Hyperion 10 platform alongside a plan with Uber to deploy 100,000 autonomous vehicles by 2027, with Stellantis, Lucid, and Mercedes-Benz among the early adopters. Read more
Ford Expands BlueCruise: Ford is widening availability of its BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system across more models. Read more
Waymo Freeway Rides Begin: Waymo has started offering fully driverless highway trips, marking a major expansion in operational capabilities. Read more
Bot Auto Secures AV Insurance: Bot Auto’s autonomous freight vehicles are now insured under a comprehensive commercial policy. Read more
BMW Earns First German DCAS Approval: BMW has received the country’s first certification under the new DCAS framework for its advanced driver assistance technologies. Read more
Aurora Expands Freight Network: Aurora has extended its driverless trucking service to include new routes in El Paso. Read more
California Revokes 17,000 CDLs: The state has invalidated tens of thousands of commercial driver’s licenses issued to immigrants following an investigation. Read more

Stay Connected

Keep up to date on our Technical Group by following us on social media!

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more updates from the Surface Transportation Technical Group.
HFES STTG Newsletter – October 2026 ▼

Dear STTG members,

ASPIRE 2026 is right around the corner! We're looking forward to seeing you all in Reno, Nevada from October 19-23!

Don’t miss the keynote address by Dr. Shumin Zhai, Principal Scientist and Engineering Director at Google!

Fun Fact: The National Automobile Museum is not too far from the conference venue for those interested.

Conference Activities

STTG Sessions

Here’s a quick overview of our Technical Sessions .

Date and time (PDT) Session
Tue - Oct 20, 1:30-2:30 pm ST1: AI-Enabled Methods and Technologies for Transportation
Tue - Oct 20, 3:00-4:00 pm ST2: Driver Attention and Human State Monitoring
Wed - Oct 21, 11:00 am-12:00 pm ST3: Trust and Behavioral Adaptation in Mixed-Autonomy Traffic
Wed - Oct 21, 1:30-2:30 pm ST4: Takeover Performance and Driver Readiness in Automated Driving
Wed - Oct 21, 3:00-4:00 pm ST5: Driver Learning with Vehicle Technologies
Wed - Oct 21, 4:30-5:30 pm ST6: Human-Centered AI in Automated Driving
Thu - Oct 22, 11:00 am-12:00 pm ST7: Automated Driving Interfaces
Thu - Oct 22, 3:00-4:00 pm ST8: Road User Behavior in Transportation Systems
Thu - Oct 22, 4:30-5:30 pm ST9: Surface Transportation Demonstrations
Fri - Oct 23, 11:00 am-12:00 pm ST10: Human Factors in Transportation Operations

Annual Business Meeting & Social to Follow

Business meeting: Tuesday, October 20th, 5:30-6:30 PM

  • Awards
  • STTG updates
  • Guest speaker: John Lenneman
  • We want your feedback!
  • Mentor/mentee link up

Following the business meeting, we will hold a social from 6:30-9:30 PM. Details on the social coming soon!

Mentoring Program

Don’t forget to sign up to be a mentor or mentee! Please sign up even if you will not be attending ASPIRE this year.

Interest form: Mentoring Program Interest Form

Deadline: October 15, 2026

Upcoming Monthly Seminars

Our monthly seminar series continues this fall with sessions planned for November and December. More information on speakers, presentation topics, and dates will be posted on HFES Connect in the coming weeks.

If you are interested in presenting next year please reach out to Lauren Mims at laurenmims@westat.com.

STTG Newsletter Call for Content

Have a publication, project update, award, seminar, job posting, or other news to share? Help us highlight the great work happening across our community by submitting your content for the next STTG newsletter.

Submission Form: Submit Newsletter Content

Deadline: November 2, 2026

Stay Connected

Keep up to date on our Technical Group by following us on social media!

Thanks for reading! We look forward to seeing you at ASPIRE 2026 in Reno, Nevada.