Our Board of Directors

The HPEE Board of Directors represents professionals from a variety of disciplines and domains. The nine-member Board helps shape the direction and future of the Society. Members serve three-year terms and three new members are elected annually.

2009-2010 HPEE Board of Directors
	Kate J. Garrick, MS Aeromedical Research Psychologist U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory    Term: 2008-2011    Kate Garrick is a Research Psychologist at the Army's Aeromedical Research Laboratory (USAARL) at Fort Rucker, Alabama. She recently graduated from the Army's School of Aviation Medicine's Aeromedical Psychology Training course. She also has a MS in Human Factors and Systems Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL.    Kate is involved in many USAARL projects as an Associate Investigator, including Subtle Effects of Moderate Hypoxia. Additional projects she is associated with include Subthreshold Priming in the Cockpit; Team Performance Metric Meta-Analysis; The Effects of Ketamine and Morphine on Warrior Skills Tasks and Tests of Higher Mental Functioning; Sleep Disruptions during Law Enforcement Dynamic Entry School; and evaluating different classification systems on Army fratricide incidents (this project is in conjunction with the U.S. Army Combat Center / Safety Center).    Kate is interested in space, high altitude, and desert environments. She is also interested in aviation, cohesion, Human Factors Psychology, CRM, culture, leadership, Psychology, stress, cognition, training, and team performance.
	James L. Merlo, PhD   Lieutenant Colonel, Infantry   Academy Professor   United States Military Academy    Term: 2008-2011      Dr. Merlo completed his BS in Human Factors Psychology at the United States Military Academy at West Point, his MS in Engineering Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champagin, IL, and his PhD in Applied Experimental and Human Factors Psychology at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL. In addition to his academic achievements, Dr. Merlo has significant military education and special skills training to include Command and General Staff College, Combined Arms Staff Service School, Infantry Officer Advanced Course, Infantry Officer Basic Course, US Army Air Assault School, Bradley Fighting Vehicle Commander’s Course, US Army Ranger School, and US Army Airborne School.    He is currently an Academy Professor at the United States Military Academy. Prior to his teaching career, he served in the military in the numerous capacities including Deputy Brigade Commander (Baghdad, Iraq) and Brigade Operations Officer (Ft. Hood, TX). His current research interests include expert decision making in high stress environments and the role of multimodal displays in combat environments. Current projects include tactile displays, examining the use of a third modality in battlefield communication, namely the activation of tactons on the skin as a method to relay information, and cognitive intuition, investigating the utility of a simulation to facilitate future combat leaders in gaining useful practice in the decision making art.
	Lieutenant Christopher T. Steele, Ph.D. Research Physiologist, US Navy Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory, Groton CT    Term: 2008-2011    Christopher T. Steele is a circadian physiologist who is keenly interested in the operational impact of fatigue upon human performance and health in extreme environments. His current research focuses on circadian rhythm and fatigue management in U.S. Navy submarines. LT Steele’s work utilizes wrist actigraphy, cognitive modeling, salivary melatonin and cortisol rhythms, polysomnography and PDA-administered cognitive testing to monitor the physiological and psychological state of individuals both in the laboratory and in the undersea environment.    LT Steele is a prior-Army, enlisted Soldier and has deployed to both Iraq (1990-91, Desert Storm) and Afghanistan (2003-04, Enduring Freedom). Given his operational background, Chris’ research interests revolve around protecting the health and enhancing the performance of the warfighter, both at sea and on the ground. In 2005, Chris received his Ph.D. in Zoology (minor in Behavioral Biology) from North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC) where he investigated the coupling of biological clocks in vertebrates. He is a ten-year member of the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms, an active participant in the Department of Defense Technical Advisory Group on Human Factors Engineering, and a new member of Human Performance in Extreme Environments. Dr. Steele is also an Adjunct Faculty member at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY) where he lectures in two graduate-level courses and conducts research on lighting, health and performance with collaborators at the Lighting Research Center at RPI.
	Donald J. White, Colonel, USAF, BSC Director, Aerospace and Operational Physiology Programs Chief, HP Sustainment and Enhancement Division BSC Associate Corps Chief, Aerospace Physiology AF/SG Military Consultant, Aerospace Physiology Office of the Surgeon General    Term: 2008-2011    Colonel Donald J. White currently serves as the Director Research and Development Division, Office of the Assistant Surgeon General, Modernization; Director, USAF Aerospace and Operational Physiology Programs; Biomedical Science Corps Associate Corps Chief and Chief Military Consultant to the Surgeon General for Aerospace Physiology.    Colonel White entered the Air Force by Direct commission in 1984. Upon completion of the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine Aerospace Physiology officer training course in 1984, Colonel White has had an operational career that includes assignment experience in acquisition, research, development, test and evaluation; education, aircrew training, operational physiology and operational safety.  He is a High Altitude Low Opening and Static Line Master Parachutist with over 4,500 parachute deployments.  As the human factors and human performance consultant he has participated on 14 Class A Safety Investigation Boards, an Accident Investigation Board and four Medical Incident Investigation Boards.  Colonel White was also selected as a human factors and life science investigator for the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Colonel White is currently appointed as Adjunct Faculty, USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences.  Colonel White serves Chairman, Board of Directors, Society of Human Performance in Extreme Environments, is the current Chair, Aerospace Medical Association Associate Fellows Group, Council member, Aerospace Medical Association, and Immediate past President, Aerospace Physiology Society, Aerospace Medical Association.
	Eric G. Chase, Captain, USAF, BSC Logistics Element Chief Deputy Director, NVG Academic Instructor Program Randolph AFB    Term: 2009-2012   Lt Chase joined the US Peace Corps after graduate school and taught in Kenya, East Africa for 27 months.  Living through the deadly East African droughts of 2005-06 sparked his interest in human existence in extreme environments.  A runner himself, Eric was adopted and inspired by the legendary Kenyan marathoners - the Kalenjin Tribe - who motivated his interest in human performance in those extreme environments.    Lt Chase was directly commissioned into the Air Force in 2008.  Currently, he is assigned to the 359th Aerospace & Operational Physiology Training Flight at Randolph Air Force Base, TX, where he teaches numerous courses on topics including altitude threats, acceleration, human factors, CRM, and fatigue to nearly 7,000 aircrew per year.  His duties also include serving as Logistics Element Chief overseeing $7.5M worth of training equipment and facilities, and as the Deputy Director for the Air Force's only Night Vision Goggle Academic Instructor Program.  Eric holds a BS in Physiology from the University of Arizona and an MS in Physiology and Biophysics from the University of Washington Medical School.  His academic accomplishments include teaching from the fifth-grade to graduate school levels, while his peer-reviewed publications range from organic synthesis to cardiac calcium dysregulation and electrophysiological remodeling after myocardial infarction.
	Shannon L. Phares, Major, USAF Assistant Director of Operations Aerospace & Operational Physiology (AOP) Branch Office of the Air Force Surgeon General    Term: 2009-2012   Maj Phares assists in the development and issuance of  policy and guidance.  Maj Phares coordinates training and operational physiology programs with AF/A3O and AF/SE.  She is also responsible for certification of foreign AOP programs; initiates human performance risk assessments; analyzes operational safety trends relating to occupational health.      Maj Phares graduated from the University of California, Davis where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Exercise Physiology.  She went on to attend San Diego State University where she received a Master of Science Degree in Exercise Physiology and a commission in the United States Air Force.
	Barrett S. Caldwell, Ph.D. Industrial Engineering / Aeronautics and Astronautics Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana, USA   Term: 2007-2010   Prof. Barrett S. Caldwell holds a joint appointment as an Associate Professor in both Industrial Engineering and Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. He also serves as the Director of the NASA-funded Indiana Space Grant Consortium. His background includes two Bachelor of Science degrees (1985), one in Aeronautics and Astronautics and one in Humanities (Psychology), from MIT and a Master of Arts (1987) and a PhD (1990) in Social Psychology from the University of California-Davis. Prof. Caldwell's professional contributions to human performance in extreme and challenging environments date back to the 1980s. His graduate experience includes privacy requirements for the Freedom Space Station design, participation in a 1987 conference on Antarctica and other extreme environment analogues for human performance in long duration space flight, and a 1990 dissertation focused on group dynamics of park rangers in isolated US national park sites. Prof. Caldwell has been involved with HPEE since its inception in the mid 1990s.
	Michael Lombardi Ocean Opportunity   Term: 2007-2010   Michael Lombardi consults in the ocean science and technology community, and is an explorer, author, and photographer. He has an extensive professional and exploration diving background with experience in several modes of diving including using all gas mixtures and advanced techniques to safely support science operations in all habitats to depths in excess of 300 feet. His diverse background has included involvement in projects with institutions around the globe including several US university marine programs, the Office of Naval Research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Undersea Research Center (NURC), and the US Army Corps of Engineers. Michael serves on the membership committee for the American Academy of Underwater Sciences and is a contributing author for "The Summit Journal," where he chronicles his exploration projects. In 2003, Michael started a non-profit organization, Ocean Opportunity, to incubate his exploration interests.
	Jennifer H. Patterson, M.S. Pacific Graduate School of Psychology Palo Alto, California, USA   Term: 2007-2010   Jennifer H. Patterson holds an M.S. in Clinical Psychology from the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in Palo Alto, CA, where she is currently a Doctoral Candidate and holds a fellowship through the National Center on the Psychology of Terrorism. Jennifer currently works for the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System and serves as the Associate Editor of the Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments. Jennifer also provides program development services for national organizations; is a lead instructor, program advisor and past Program Director for the Palo Alto Medical Reserve Corps; has published on topics including mass casualty disaster, trauma response, health psychology, and performance psychology. She also provides performance development/consultation services for individuals and teams working in high-risk professions and sports. Jennifer also serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for the United States Apnea Association, where she works with a team of diving professionals to address organizational as well as competition, safety and performance needs of apnea divers (freedivers) across the nation.