Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Psychology, George Mason University, 2011
  • M.A., Psychology, George Mason University, 2007
  • B.S., Human Factors, Tufts University, 2003
Licenses & Certifications
  • PADI Certified Open Water Scuba Diver
Professional Honors
  • New Investigator Award from APA Division of Experimental Psychology (Division 3), 2012
  • NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program grant $30,000 annual, 2008-2011
  • North American Finalist for Enhanced Safety of Vehicles automotive design competition, 2009
  • Recipient of the Deflorez Prize in Human Engineering, 2003
Professional Affiliations
  • Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 2001-present
  • • Computational Modeling Technical Group
  • • Cognitive Engineering Technical Group
  • • Aerospace Technical Group
  • • Surface Transportation Technical Group
  • • Product Design Technical Group
  • Society of Automotive Engineering 2011-present
  • • Voting member of Safety and Human Factors Steering Committee 2015-present
  • George Mason Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Student Chapter 2005-2011
  • • President 2006-2007
  • Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Potomac Chapter Fall 2006-2011
  • American Psychological Association 2006-2025
  • • Division 21 - Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology
  • Usability Professionals Association 2006-2011
  • Association for Psychological Science 2006-2011
  • Cognitive Science Society 2008-2011

David Cades, Ph.D., is a principal scientist and the director of the Human Factors practice at Exponent. He has over 25 years of experience in human factors consulting and research. He specializes in human factors assessments for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated vehicles, driver behavior research and distracted driving investigations, user experience analysis and design, product labeling and user warning evaluations, and expert witness services in litigation matters across transportation (e.g., automotive, maritime, aviation, rail), trucking, and consumer products industries.

Dr. Cades has expertise in the testing and analysis of how interruptions and distractions affect performance. He has investigated the negative effects of distractions in environments, including driving, aviation, healthcare, offices, and classrooms, to understand how distractions can cause errors that lead to accidents. For aviation specifically, he has collected over forty hours of data from airline pilots performing safety critical flight tasks with interruptions and distractions, and he has worked with pilots, air traffic controllers, and airline operations in support of FAA's NextGen initiative.

Dr. Cades received his Ph.D. in psychology from the Human Factors and Applied Cognition program at George Mason University in 2011. His graduate work utilized various experimental and statistical methods to assess human behavior with respect to in-vehicle displays and devices, flight deck performance with novel systems and interruptions, the effects of glare on human vision, how attributes of interruptions affect task performance, ways to improve how people handle distractions, and the effects of interruptions, distractions, task switching, and multitasking in different environments.

ADAS and AV Human Factors Assessments

Dr. Cades is an expert in human factors assessments for automated vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), including driver behavior evaluations of automated emergency braking (AEB), collision mitigation and warning (e.g., FCW), blind spot indication (e.g., BSM), and lane departure warning and keeping systems (e.g., LDW, LKA, LCA). He has performed hundreds of hours of on-road and test-track evaluations of ADAS and AV technologies using instrumented vehicles and driver monitoring systems and technology to gauge distraction and engagement in driving tasks under various levels of automation.

Driver behavior research and distracted driving investigations

Dr. Cades had broad experience in driver behavior research, including perception response time/perception reaction time (PRT), visual perception and lighting, nighttime driving and visibility, attention/inattention, conspicuity, and distraction/inattention. He regularly leads human factors investigations into issues, incidents, and crashes related to driver behavior issues, including distracted driving, and in-vehicle system and technology use, including manual and voice-activated infotainment devices, as well as evaluations of factors outside the vehicle, including vulnerable road users (i.e., pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders, etc.), other vehicles, and environmental conditions.

User experience analysis and design

Dr. Cades was previously employed and has conducted research in the field of usability and user experience for digital and physical product design. He has expertise in evaluating and designing graphical user interfaces including devices for use in automobiles and aircraft, and he also designed a dashboard display to assist drivers in maintaining safe speeds while driving in adverse conditions and explored how aging and glare affect people's driving ability.

Product labelling and user warning evaluations

Dr. Cades has extensive experience in the evaluation and development of warnings and instructions for a wide range of consumer and industrial products. He has evaluated human factors aspects of the appropriateness and adequacy of warnings on products and in their manuals and applied his experience to projects involving safety- and health-related user behaviors of vehicles, industrial equipment, kitchen appliances and products, video game entertainment systems, consumer electronics, sports and recreation equipment, home theater products, and personal protective equipment.

Expert witness support and testimony experience

Dr. Cades has been qualified as a human factors expert and offered testimony in both state and federal courts on topics including, but not limited to, vehicle operator behavior, distraction and inattention, visibility, audition, effects of warnings and safety information on behavior, human interaction with ADAS, consumer purchase decision making, human subjects research and testing, human machine interaction/user experience, and pedestrian behavior.