Volpe Technical Experts
Dr. James N. Hallock,
Dr. Hallock received the SB (1963), MS (1969), and PhD (1972) degrees in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He worked in the Apollo Optics Group of the MIT Instrumentation Lab (now the Draper Lab) between 1963 -1966. He worked on Gemini and Apollo dealing with selecting Earth landmarks for updating guidance computers on Apollo and was co-experimenter on a landmark contrast experiment flown on Gemini X. He also calculated lunar photometric functions and the potential effects of solar flare radiation on the optical systems of Apollo. Dr. Hallock joined the NASA Electronics Research Center in Cambridge, MA, in 1966, where his work involved the development of a holographic spacecraft attitude system and optical spatial filtering techniques.
In 1970 he joined what is now known as the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. Dr. Hallock's work since joining DOT includes the development and testing of optical guidance systems for aircraft, the study of aircraft wake vortices, the development of flight procedures, the conduct of safety analyses in support of rulemaking, the development of aviation regulations, and the development of aviation safety information systems. Between 1986 and 2006, he served as manager of the Aviation Safety Division. Dr. Hallock is an internationally known expert on aircraft wake vortex behavior, and has supervised 10 SB- or MS-level thesis projects in wake vortex research. In 2006 he was promoted by the Secretary of Transportation to Senior Technical Expert for Air and Space Transportation Safety. Dr. Hallock is a senior member of AIAA, a member of the MIT Educational Council, a member of the ICAO-charted Airbus 380 Working Group.addressing the wake vortex separation standards for the new very large aircraft, and has served on review boards for the FAA, NASA and the Canadian Ministry of Transport. He is a member of the NASA Space Shuttle and Space Station Mishap Board; in 2003 he served as a member of the space shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation Board. He has authored or co-authored two patents and more than 160 papers and reports.
Dr. Hallock serves on the Board of Managers of the Jonas Parmenter Home, a non-profit corporation that operates residences for the elderly in Waltham, MA. He and his wife Georgie live in Waltham, MA. They have two children, Alexander (A.J.) and Theodore (Ted).
