Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Psychology, George Mason University, 2004
  • M.A., Human Factors Psychology, California State University, Northridge, 1997
  • B.A., Psychology and Philosophy, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1992
Academic Appointments
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, George Mason University, 2005-2010
Professional Honors
  • Superior Accomplishment Award, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2017
  • Gold Medal Outstanding Achievement Award – FAST Act Team, US Dept. of Transportation, 2016
  • Partnering for Excellence Award - Smart City Challenge Team, US Dept. of Transportation, 2016
  • Partnering for Excellence Award – NHTSA Rose Garden Team, US Dept. of Transportation, 2016
  • Superior Accomplishment Team Award - Phase 2 Distraction Guidelines, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2016
  • Superior Performance in Management Award, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2015
Professional Affiliations
  • Member, Society of Automotive Engineers, 2020-present
  • Past U.S. Co-Chair, Human Factors Working Group under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Trilateral Agreement with the European Commission and Japan on Intelligent Transportation Systems
  • Past Chair, USDOT Human Factors Coordinating Committee
  • Past Member, USDOT Smart City Evaluation Team
  • Past Member, USDOT FAST-Act Implementation Team
  • Past Member, USDOT Distraction Team
  • Past Chair, Transportation Research Board (TRB) Human Factors Workshop Committee
  • Past Member, current Affiliate, TRB User Characteristics Committee (ACH30)
  • Affiliate, TRB Simulation and Measurement of Vehicle and Operator Performance Committee (ACH)
  • Past Member, TRB Human Factors Guidelines for Road Systems Subcommittee (ACH40(2))
  • Past Member, TRB Digital Billboards Joint Subcommittee
  • Member, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), 1998-Present
  • Member, HFES Surface Transportation Technical Group
  • Past Chair, HFES Surface Transportation Technical Group
  • Past Program Chair, HFES Surface Transportation Technical Group
  • Member, HFES Forensics Professional Technical Group

Dr. Monk is an internationally recognized expert on driver inattention, in-vehicle human-machine interfaces, in-vehicle warnings and alerts, driving human factors, and driver behavior. In addition, his past experience as head of human factors at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) equips him to address vehicle systems issues with advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) and automated vehicle systems, including the development of safety assessment tools, regulatory test procedures, functional safety requirements, regulatory support analyses, and research with federal crash and fatalities databases.  

Dr. Monk also works on issues related to alcohol and drowsy impaired driving, pedestrians, vehicle lighting, nighttime driving, traffic control devices, and seat belts. Dr. Monk's unique background in the federal government, automotive industry, academia, and consulting allows him to provide invaluable insights, guidance, and support to clients on a range of driver performance and regulatory questions in conventional vehicles, ADAS, and automated vehicles.

Dr. Monk has led both large-scale research programs and individual studies investigating driver distraction, automation human factors, warning design, electronic systems safety, functional safety, and emerging technologies for the federal government and industry clients and has extensive experience in partnering with industry to accomplish research and regulatory objectives. In his role as head of human factors at NHTSA, he had the opportunity to speak before the White House, the Secretary of Transportation, and NHTSA political leadership on a range of vehicle safety topics, and was called upon by leadership to represent NHTSA's positions and research to the National Transportation Safety Board, the General Services Administration, and the US Department of Defense.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Monk was the Human Factors Division Chief in NHTSA's Office of Vehicle Crash Avoidance & Electronic Controls Research, where he also served as Acting Division Chief for the Electronic Systems Controls division. Prior to NHTSA, Dr. Monk was the Human Factors Team Leader at the Federal Highway Administration. Before that, he was an Assistant Professor of Human Factors Psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. He began his career as a human factors engineer for Toyota where he led the development of the driver-vehicle interface for the first-generation Lexus in-vehicle navigation system.