James R. Sayer, PhD

ABOUT MYSELF

I'm the institute's Director and a research scientist in the Human Factors Group of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), a unit of the College of Engineering. I am also have an adjunct appointment as a research scientist in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  I've been with UMTRI as a faculty member since 1993, and worked at UMTRI as an undergraduate student researcher in 1987 and 1988.

I conduct both basic and translational research in the areas of advanced vehicle safety systems, human interaction with highly automated vehicles, connected vehicle and infrastructure technology, naturalistic driving behavior, driver distraction, and pedestrian safety.   I have led the conduct and evaluation of field operational tests of vehicle safety systems, connected vehicle technology, and the study of naturalistic driving behavior.  It was based on my experience with advanced vehicle-based sensing technologies, their known capabilities and limitations, that I conceived of, designed and oversaw the construction of the Mcity Test Facility (version 1.0).

I have served as the principal investigator of several large field operational tests or deployments of advanced vehicle technologies, including the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety System Field Operation Test (IVBSS FOT), the Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Model Deployment (Safety Pilot), the Ann Arbor Connected Vehicle Test Environment (AACVTE), the Ann Arbor Connected Environment (AACE), and currently serve as the PI on the ATTAIN Grant funded "Ann Arbor Connected Environment Reimagined" (AACE 2.0) - a C-V2X-based deployment of connected technology in the City of Ann Arbor.  Cumulatively I have overseen more than $83M in sponsored research funding since 2005, and served as the co-principal investigator on several additional field operational tests and deployments - including the current RAISE Grant funded Smart Intersections Project (SIP).  

IN THE NEWS

• • The New York Times: The Auto Industry’s VHS-or-Betamax Moment

  • The Guardian: Welcome to MCity, Michigan's ghost town of driverless cars

  • BBC News: The fake city helping create tomorrow’s cars

  • New York Times: New Era in Safety When Cars Talk to One Another

RESEARCH PROFILES

• • Google Scholar

  • ORCiD

Personal Interests

• • Woodworking, Lowland single grain Scotch whisky, Univ. of Michigan football, personal ancestry, traveling

  • Native Michigander, born in Detroit and raised in St. Clair Shores