R. John Hansman, Jr.
Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Head, Division of Humans and Automation
Director, International Center for Air Transportation

Recent Talks

• "Overview of Recent Forces & Trends in the Airline Industry", Prof. R. John Hansman, with the help of the Faculty and Students of the MIT Global Industry Study
• "Air Transportation: The Next 100 Years, Challenges and Opportunities", Presentation to the British Columbian Aviation Council, Vancouver, Canada, September 2003

• A.B., 1976, Cornell University, Physics
• S.M., 1980, MIT, Physics
• Ph.D., 1982, MIT, Physics, Meteorology, Aeronautics & Astronautics, Electrical Engineering

Dr. R. John Hansman is currently a Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, where he is Head of the Humans and Automation Division. He is also Director of the International Center for Air Transportation. Professor Hansman teaches courses on Aircraft Systems and Design, Human Supervisory Control of Automated Systems, Air Traffic Control, Spacecraft and Aircraft Sensors and Instrumentation, Flight Measurement, The Airline Industry, and Aircraft Systems Engineering and has co-produced an educational Video Series on Measurement. He served as Co-Chair of the MIT Presidential Task Force on Student Life and Learning.

Professor Hansman holds 6 U.S. Patents, and has authored over 250 technical publications. He conducts research in several areas related to air transportation, flight vehicle operations and safety. His current research activities focus on information technology applied to air transportation systems, air traffic control, integrated human-automation systems, advanced vehicles, and advanced cockpit information systems. He is also an internationally recognized expert in aviation meteorological hazards such as icing and windshear. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and gave the 2005 National AIAA Dryden Lecture on Research. He received a 2004 Commercial Air Transport Laurel from Aviation Week and Space technology, the 1998 Bose Award for Excellence in Teaching, the 1997 FAA Excellence in Aviation Award, the 1994 Losey Atmospheric Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the 1990 OSTIV Diploma for Technical Contributions and the 1986 AIAA Award for Best Paper in Thermophysics.

Dr. Hansman also consults and serves as a member of numerous advisory and technical committees including the FAA Research and Development Advisory Committee and the NASA Aeronautical Research Advisory Committee. He serves on several editorial and corporate boards. He has over 5000 hours of pilot in-command time in airplanes, helicopters and sailplanes, including meteorological, production and engineering flight test experience.