Location
UMTRI
2901 Baxter Rd. Rm 158
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Primary Website
Pronouns
he/his/him
Research Interests
Dr. Jim Sayer is the former Director of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (2016-2025). Sayer conducts both basic and translational research in the areas of advanced vehicle safety systems, human interaction with highly automated vehicles, connected vehicle and infrastructure technology, naturalistic driving behavior, driver distraction, and pedestrian safety. He is an internationally recognized leader in the conduct and evaluation of field operational tests of vehicle safety systems, connected vehicle technology, and the study of naturalistic driving behavior. He also has an appointment as Adjunct Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Service
Dr. Sayer was previously the Chair of the University’s Institutional Autonomous System Committee, and has served a variety of roles on the University’s Health and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board, including Chair, Co-Chair, and Full Board member.
Awards
- 2015 White House Transportation Champion of Change, Award recognizing exemplary leadership in advancing transportation and championing innovation that will benefit our nation’s transportation system
- Intelligent Transportation Society of America, 2014 President’s Award, Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Model Deployment Program
- Society of Automotive Engineers Excellence in Oral Presentation Award, SAE 2012 Government/Industry Meeting
- Intelligent Transportation Society of America, 2008 Best of ITS, Best Innovative Product or Service, Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety System Program
Key Projects
Dr. Sayer was the lead architect of the autonomous and connected vehicle test facility known as Mcity (2013 – 2015) having conceived of, designed, and overseen its construction. He has served as the Principal Investigator of the Ann Arbor Connected Environment (2019 – 2020), the U.S. DOT’s Ann Arbor Connected Vehicle Test Environment (2015 – 2019), and U.S. DOT’s Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Model Deployment program (2011 – 2015).
Sayer has served as the principal investigator of several large field operational tests or deployments of advanced vehicle technologies, including the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety System Field Operation Test (IVBSS FOT), the Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Model Deployment (Safety Pilot), the Ann Arbor Connected Vehicle Test Environment (AACVTE), the Ann Arbor Connected Environment (AACE), and currently serve as the PI on the ATTAIN Grant funded “Ann Arbor Connected Environment Reimagined” (AACE 2.0) – a C-V2X-based deployment of connected technology in the City of Ann Arbor. Cumulatively overseeing more than $83M in sponsored research funding since 2005, and served as the co-principal investigator on several additional field operational tests and deployments – including the current RAISE Grant funded Smart Intersections Project (SIP).
Student Engagement
Dr. Sayer has worked with and supported more than two dozen post doctoral candidates, master’s students, and undergraduate students at UMTRI since 1993.
Hometown
St. Clair Shores, MI
Personal Interests/Hobbies
Woodworking, single grain Lowland Scotch whisky
Additional Information
ORCID: 0000-0001-8180-7604
Scopus ID: 57195268498