image: Scott Shappell, a safety expert from Clemson University, is being honored by the American Psychological Association. view more
Credit: Clemson University
CLEMSON – Scott Shappell, a professor of industrial engineering at Clemson University, has been elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA). The title is bestowed upon APA members who have shown evidence of outstanding contributions and significant impact in the field of psychology on a national and international level.
Shappell is known for his research in the areas of human error, human factors safety-management systems and fatigue effects on performance. He is the co-developer of the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System and Human Factors Intervention Matrix, groundbreaking tools used to identify and prevent human causal factors associated with accidents in high-risk industries such as aviation, mining and medicine.
After receiving his bachelor's in psychology from Wright State University (1983), Shappell received his Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Texas Medical Branch (1990). He served as the human factors research branch manager at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute of the Federal Aviation Administration in Oklahoma City, Okla. There he managed research programs on advanced air traffic-control systems, behavioral stressors and aircrew performance. While with the FAA, he continued to conduct studies of civil and military aviation accidents.
Before joining the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, then-Lt. Comdr. Shappell served as the human factors branch chief at the U.S. Naval Safety Center and as a human factors accident investigation consultant for the Joint Service Safety Chiefs. Prior to the Naval Safety Center, he served as the force aerospace psychologist for the commander, naval air forces, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. His experience in the U.S. Navy and the civilian sector helped forge his research in aviation psychology and aeromedical safety.
He has published more than 60 papers and one book in the fields of aviation accident investigation, spatial disorientation, sustained operations, flight deck injuries and aircrew fatigue.
Shappell joined the department of industrial engineering at Clemson University in 2005.