Tracy Lennertz, PhD
Acting Technical Center Director for Safety Management and Human Factors
Tracy Lennertz, PhD is acting director of the U.S. DOT Volpe Center's Safety Management and Human Factors Technical Center. She was previously co-chief of the Transportation Human Factors Division. Lennertz has been as the U.S. DOT Volpe Center since 2010, leading and conducting applied human factors research in transportation, including a multi-year portfolio examining the complexities of pilot-controller communications.
Lennertz serves as a subject-matter expert for the Operational Data Link Working Group at the International Civil Aviation Organization, and she has been instrumental in shaping global guidance for pilot-controller communications. She has more than 40 publications, spanning topics in human factors and research in experimental psychology.
Lennertz received her PhD in Psychology from Northeastern University (Boston, MA), her master’s degree from Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, FL), and her undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto (Mississauga, ON). She leads a multi-disciplinary team of human factors researchers—with a focus on improving transportation safety across modes, especially in aviation, automobiles, and trucks.
Lennertz also facilitates a center-wide monthly roundtable discussion on innovation for U.S. DOT Volpe Center staff that aims to engage vibrant community that builds U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s innovation culture and informs strategic decision-making as how to implement innovation at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center.