Society News

Table of Contents

• Nominate Ph.D. Students for the HFES Doctoral Colloquium by July 25
• National Defense Authorization Act and HFES
• Register Now for ASPIRE—The HFES Annual Meeting
• Pre-Order Your HFES/ASPIRE T-Shirt
• Call for Volunteers: Speed-Dating With Human Factors Professionals 
• Reserve Your Seat at the 2024 Mentor-Mentee Luncheons
• Opportunities Remain Available to Present at ASPIRE
• HFES Job Fair at ASPIRE
• Reserve Your Accommodations for ASPIRE
• Sponsorship Opportunities at ASPIRE
• Call for Papers: Special Issue of Human Factors
• Upcoming Meetings and Activities
• Community Updates

Nominate Ph.D. Students for the HFES Doctoral Colloquium by July 25

Nominations are being accepted for the second HFES Doctoral Colloquium, taking place on Monday, September 9 at ASPIRE—the HFES Annual Meeting in Phoenix.

This half-day event with lunch is for Ph.D. students graduating by 2026 and will focus on obtaining and succeeding in an academic position. Department heads can nominate up to two students.

Submissions are due by Thursday, July 25. 

National Defense Authorization Act and HFES

We are thrilled to announce that HFES’ language on human readiness levels has been included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill authorizes FY2024 appropriations and sets forth policies for Department of Defense (DOD) programs and activities, military construction, the national security programs of the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Maritime Administration, as well as the Department of State and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It also authorizes appropriations for the defense nuclear safety board and the naval petroleum reserves and sets policy for several other agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In part, the bill states:

"SEC. 244. INCORPORATING HUMAN READINESS LEVELS 21 INTO RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND EVALUATION ACTIVITIES. (a) REVIEW.-Not later than 90 days after the date 24 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 25 shall, in consultation with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, initiate a review of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Standard 400-2021 to determine whether any materials from this standard can and should be incorporated or referenced in Department of Defense procedures and guidance material in order to enhance safety in relation to human factors."

Now that the Senate Armed Services Committee NDAA has been released, the House and Senate will conference their versions of the bill and come to an agreement on a final FY 2025 NDAA, which will likely not happen until the end of the year. Still, it is a very good indicator that our language made it into the Senate version! 

Congratulations to Mica Endsley and the members of her Government Relations Committee.

Register Now for ASPIRE—The HFES Annual Meeting

Make plans to join us from September 9-13 in Phoenix at ASPIRE—the HFES International Annual Meeting with the mission to advance systems and practices through innovation, research and education. 

View the full schedule for ASPIRE and register for an engaging week filled with insightful sessions, workshops and networking opportunities designed to help you connect and grow. ASPIRE will attract nearly 2,000 attendees from academia, government and industry and will feature more than 600 technical presentations including a variety of special sessions.

The regular registration deadline is 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, August 30.

Pre-Order Your HFES/ASPIRE T-Shirt

HFES is excited to offer you the option to purchase ASPIRE branded T-shirts along with your registration for this year's annual meeting. Simply visit the registration page and proceed as usual. T-shirts will also be available for purchase onsite at ASPIRE.

The deadline for online orders is Friday, August 2.

Call for Volunteers: Speed-Dating With Human Factors Professionals

We are looking for human factors professionals in academia, government and industry to volunteer for a networking event at the student career and professional development day during ASPIRE on Monday, September 9 from 3:45-5:00 p.m. MST. The goal for this event is to connect professionals with students in a "speed-dating" style event where professionals rotate between small groups of students to talk about career paths, professional advice and valuable experience that would help emerging professionals excel in their future careers.

Interested professionals may contact Alec Gonzales or Dr. Xiaomei Wang.

Reserve Your Seat at the 2024 Mentor-Mentee Luncheons

A series of mentor-mentee luncheons will be held during ASPIRE to assist students, early-career professionals and those in career transition to develop mentoring relationships with established professionals in the field. The luncheons will be held during the lunch breaks on September 10-September 12. Complimentary lunch will be provided to attendees.

To keep the luncheons intimate and informal, attendance will be limited to 20 students, early career professionals, career transitional members and 5 mentors per session.

To reserve your place as a mentor or a mentee, complete the online registration form. Reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and a waiting list will be established in case of cancellations.

For any questions, reach out to mentor-mentee luncheon coordinator, Baron C. Summers.

Opportunities Remain Available to Present at ASPIRE

HFES is committed to expanding opportunities for attendees at all stages of their research and careers to share their work and receive feedback from colleagues. Discover the following participation opportunities available at ASPIRE.

The submission deadline for both opportunities below is Thursday, August 15.

• Collaborative Solutions: Participants will present a poster outlining a problem or question for feedback, with attendees providing suggestions on index cards pinned to the board, addressing both industry and research-oriented issues.

• Lightning Lessons: HFES will offer seven-minute Lightning Lesson slots for brief, focused presentations to start new discussions, allowing speakers to share a single key point or useful insight using a limited number of slides.

HFES Job Fair at ASPIRE

HFES would like to thank our participating companies at the job fair this year: Boeing, Pacific Science & Engineering Group and Applied Cognitive Sciences.

As a reminder The HFES Job Fair is open to all organizations that purchase a booth or table at the job fair and one (1) online job posting through the HFES Job Board. Follow the steps below: 

1. Complete the registration form to attend the HFES Job Fair. 
2. View the Job Fair floor plan and Job Fair hours. 
3. Select one of the online Job Board packages to post on the HFES Job Board.
4. Post one or more job openings on the online HFES Job Board by Monday, August 12 to allow candidates sufficient time to browse available positions. 

Not only will you gain access to top talent in the field of HF/E, each participating organization will receive two (2) complimentary badges for attending personnel. 

Reserve Your Accommodations for ASPIRE

Reserve your accommodations for ASPIRE at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix. Enjoy our group rate of $269 with various lodging options available. Attendees reserving within the HFES room block will have the daily resort fee waived.

The hotel cutoff date to secure a room within the HFES room block is Friday, August 16, or until rooms sell out, whichever occurs first. 

As always, please be aware that scammers claiming to have lower rates target associations like HFES. Hotel reservations should be secured only via the online registration link found on our website.

Looing to share costs? Use the ASPIRE Roommate Finder to engage with other attendees looking for roommates to share lodging costs.

Hotel Booking Alert

Sponsorship Opportunities at ASPIRE

HFES offers three levels of sponsorship and more than 20 individual sponsorship opportunities, providing options to meet every budget!

Aligning a sponsorship with your brand forges awareness of your business can be custom designed to meet your marketing goals and gives your company additional exposure to HF/E professionals and decision makers that participate in ASPIRE, including the next generation of professionals and decision makers.

Call for Papers: Special Issue of Human Factors

Lessons Learned From COVID-19 From the Human Factors and Ergonomics Perspectives

This proposed special issue invites submissions of original theoretical and empirical works related to the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of all HF/E domains.

All submissions must explicitly demonstrate knowledge that yields design principles; enhances training, selection and communication; and ultimately improves human-system interfaces and sociotechnical systems that lead to safer and more effective outcomes.

The deadline for submissions is November 30, 2024.

Upcoming Meetings and Activities

Attention chapters, technical groups, affinity groups and beyond: HFES is pleased to post information concerning upcoming meetings, webinars or other events you wish to raise awareness about on our events listing page. We also will post meetings of allied societies provided they do not occur close to any HFES-organized activity.

Let us know about your meetings and other events. Email us at info@hfes.org.

Community Updates



HFES wants to promote the important achievements of our members in the biweekly Bulletin. Appropriate topics include research milestones or other significant achievements, professional accolades, awards or recognitions, promotions or new positions and similar professionally oriented topics.

Tel.: +1 (202) 367-1114, Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET | Fax: +1 (202) 367-2114 | info@hfes.org