Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Psychology, University of Oregon, 2013
  • M.S., Psychology, University of Oregon, 2009
  • B.A., Psychology, University of Iowa, 2007
Professional Honors
  • Post-doctoral Research Scholar, Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, 2013-2015
  • Graduate Fellowship, Institute of Neuroscience: Systems Physiology Training Program #5 (T32 GM007257-33), National Institutes of Health, 2009-2010
Professional Affiliations
  • Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
  • The Psychonomic Society

Ben Lester, Ph.D., is a principal scientist in the Human Factors practice at Exponent. He has over 10 years of experience in technical litigation support and the application of human factors to accident analysis and product liability, specializing in consumer decision-making, product labeling and warning evaluations, driver behavior, pedestrian safety, and distracted driving investigations across consumer products and transportation industries. 

Human Factors Expert Witness Support and Testimony Experience

Dr. Lester has been qualified as a human factors expert and offered testimony in state and federal courts on various human factors topics including, but not limited to, visibility and conspicuity, inattention and distraction, driver behavior, heavy trucking, industrial equipment operation, pedestrian safety and behavior, micromobility technologies, premises liability, warnings and product liability, and class action certification and merits.

Product Liability and Class Action Litigation

Dr. Lester's product liability expertise focuses on an approach to class action litigation that examines consumer decision-making processes through the cognitive mechanisms that drive consumers to make purchase decisions in the marketplace. Dr. Lester has applied this method to matters related to automobiles, financial services, agricultural products, food and beverage, cosmetics, tools and hardware, and cleaning products.

Consumer Product Labels and Warnings Analysis

Dr. Lester has investigated allegations involving the adequacy of warnings, instructions, and safety communications for consumer, commercial, and industrial products in the context of product liability litigation. He has assessed whether warning design, content, placement, and communication were likely to influence user decision-making and reduce the probability of misuse or injury. Dr. Lester has also developed warnings and instructions for numerous consumer products, including user testing of warning comprehension using surveys, focus groups, and real-world product interactions.

Transportation Research and Consulting

Dr. Lester conducts human-subject testing to assess product use and user opinions for various products in automotive environments. He incorporates elements of experimental design, state-of-the-art data acquisition and analysis techniques, psychophysics, questionnaires, and observational techniques to conduct comprehensive evaluations of automotive environments and vehicle technologies. This includes research on behalf of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Education and Prior Experience

Dr. Lester completed his Ph.D. at the University of Oregon, where he studied visual perception, attention, and spatial processing. Following graduate school, he completed postdoctoral training at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, in the Division of Neuroergonomics in the Department of Neurology, where he studied aging, vision and attention, and driver behavior in simulated and naturalistic environments.