Professor Helen Muir
Head of Human Factors, Director of Cranfield Institute for Safety, Risk and Reliability
Location: Building 83
E: h.muir@cranfield.ac.uk
T: +44 (0) 01234 758222
Department of Human Factors
Current activities
Human Factors and Safety
Clients
Background
Helen Muir is a chartered psychologist with a doctorate in applied psychology. She is a Council member and Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. She is currently the Dean of Engineering and between 1999 and 2002 she was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the University.
Her research has included the development of a unique methodology for conducting research into the ergonomic factors influencing survival in accidents. As a consequence of this her Department at Cranfield is recognised as a world leader in this field. The research in both aviation and rail has been sponsored by both operators, manufacturers and safety regulators in the UK and abroad. In 2006 her work on survival in aircraft accidents was recognized by Universities UK as one of the best 100 discoveries and developments in UK universities in the last 50 years, that have changed the world.
Helen Muir acts as a consultant and serves on a range of committees associated with Human Performance. She is the chair of the rail industry’s confidential reporting system (CIRAS) and recently gave evidence to the House of Lord’s Select Committee on Air Travel and Health.
Selected publications
“The Effects of Motivation and Cabin Configuration upon Emergency Aircraft Evacuation Behaviour and Rates of Egress”, Muir, Bottomley & Marrison. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, Vol.6(1) pp 57-77, 1996.
“The Basis for the Development of a Fuselage Evacuation Time for a Ditched Helicopter” Brooks, Muir & Gibbs. Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine, Vol.72, No.6, June 2001.
“Aircraft cabin safety”. Muir, H.C., Thomas, L.J. & Wilson, R.L. (2003) The Ergonomist, June 2003, Special Issue: Transport Ergonomics. Number 396, p9. The Ergonomics Society, ISSN 0268-5639.
“In Times of Crisis how do Passengers React”” Muir H. 15th Westminster Lecture on Transport Safety, Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, 2004.
“Human Factors and Accidents” Muir, H. in “Accidents and Agendas”, Royal Academy of Engineering 2005, ISBN 1-903496-20-9
Muir H (1997) “Airplane of the 21st Century – Challenges in Safety and Survivability” International Conference on Aviation Safety and Security in the 21st Century, White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, Washington, USA.
Muir H (2002) “Passenger Safety and Very Large Transportation Aircraft”, Stewart Memorial Lecture, Royal Aeronautical Society, London.
Muir H (2003) “Impact of CIRAS on the UK Rail Industry”. Human Factors Workshop: Improving Railroad Safety Through Understanding Close Calls, Baltimore, USA
Muir H. (2005) “Passenger Survival in Aircraft Accidents” 14th Sir Peter Masefield Lecture, RAeS, Gatwick.
