WASHINGTON—Mark R. Rosekind, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, is President Obama's nominee as administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Rosekind, widely regarded as one of the world's foremost experts on human fatigue, was officially nominated for the NHTSA post Nov. 19.
The position of NHTSA administrator has been vacant since December 2013, when David L. Strickland resigned. NHTSA Deputy Director David J. Friedman has served as acting administrator since Strickland's departure.
“We look forward to working with Dr. Rosekind on issues important to our industry,” said Daniel Zielinski, senior vice president of public affairs for the Rubber Manufacturers Association.
Rosekind became the 40th member of the NTSB on June 30, 2010, according to the NTSB website. He has been the on-site NTSB member for seven major transportation accidents, and also participated in various NTSB public hearings, forums and studies on a wide range of transportation safety-related subjects.
He began his career as director of the Center for Human Sleep Research at Stanford University's Sleep Disorders Research Center. He later directed the Fatigue Countermeasures Program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and also founded Alertness Solutions, serving as the company's president and chief scientist.
Rosekind holds a Ph.D. from Yale University, and performed a post-doctoral fellowship at Brown University Medical School.
Rosekind's nomination comes at a time when the NTSB is turning serious attention to the causes of tire failure. The board has scheduled a two-day symposium on tire failure Dec. 9-10 in Washington.