Caldwell named as Jefferson Science Fellow

Barrett S. Caldwell  Download Photo

Barrett S. Caldwell, professor of industrial engineering and aeronautics and astronautics (by courtesy), has been named to the 2016-17 class of Jefferson Science Fellows, an initiative of the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State.

The JSF program was established in 2003 to further build capacity for science, technology and engineering expertise within the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The JSF program is administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and is supported through a partnership between the U.S. academic community, professional scientific societies, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The 2016-17 JSFs were selected in December 2015 and will begin their one-year assignments in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 22.

"The goal of the JSF is to have senior academic researchers with technical expertise be closely connected to members of the diplomatic corps and government offices. This helps improve how science and engineering can inform national policy and international relations," Caldwell says. "Rather than waiting for months for a single academic paper that may not be directly related to an emerging crisis, the Fellows are expected to work directly (and timely) with the U.S. Department of State or Agency for International Development to help respond effectively to the critical challenges of our era."

He continues: “Our general discussions of the [Purdue] Systems Collaboratory emphasize the range in which human activities and motivations (beliefs, cultures, polices, priorities, etc.) influence the behavior and evolution of complex systems. My time as a Jefferson Science Fellow will directly apply and extend this realm of systems dynamics and systems engineering to how national and international governments, companies and other nongovernmental organizations function in response to global events."

To date, the JSF program has named 128 Fellows from U.S. institutions of higher learning. Purdue has had six faculty named as Jefferson Fellows. Previous Jefferson Fellows from Purdue were Melba Crawford, Alexander King (no longer at Purdue), Suresh Garimella, Jay Gore and Charles Santerre.

Caldwell has a PhD in social psychology from the University of California, Davis and bachelor's degrees in aeronautics and astronautics and humanities from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research team, the Group Performance Environments Research (GROUPER) Laboratory, examines and improves how people get, share, and use information well. GROUPER research highlights human factors engineering approaches to information flow, task coordination, and team performance in settings including aviation,  health care, and spaceflight mission operations. Current GROUPER research is funded by sources including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Federal Aviation Administration, NASA and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Caldwell has advised or co-advised more than 30 master's thesis students and 15 doctoral students, and published more than 150 scientific publications. He is a Fellow and past secretary-treasurer of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, a Purdue University Faculty Scholar, and director of the NASA-funded Indiana Space Grant Consortium, promoting STEM education throughout Indiana.