Eugene N. St.Clair

Throughout his career in Human Factors (HF) and Human Systems Integration (HSI), Gene St.Clair has provided his clients with services ranging from strategic planning, requirements definition, test & evaluation, product design and usability, and systems engineering.

Specializations

Ships

Mr. St.Clair performed new and legacy vessel surveys to generate initial requirements for the U.S. Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter program. These requirements included small boat launch and recovery, communications systems, bridge design, weapons system safety, habitability, and damage and fire control.  He has provided human factors expertise in the design of sonar display consoles for mine countermeasures ships, as well as, examined manning requirements for underwater unmanned vehicle launch and recovery for the U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). In addition, he participated in the LCS Mission Module integration for both HSI planning and subject matter expertise.

Unmanned Systems

In addition to his work with unmanned underwater vehicles, Mr. St.Clair examined the potential impacts of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) and provided both a quick look report, literature review, and draft HSI issues assessment to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  This work documented potential impacts of UAS integration as seen by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) component of the NAS. 

Aircraft

As an aviation enthusiast and avid pilot, Mr. St.Clair has had the pleasure of providing Human Factors expertise on several airborne platforms throughout his career. He was the HF lead for the U.S Navy MH-60R supporting the Patuxent River Naval Air Station Crew Systems Division and HX-21 Rotary Wing Squadron. Later he transitioned this expertise in support of the H-60S Organic Airborne Mine Countermeasures Program. While supporting these programs he provided expertise in Human Factors, anthropometry, emergency egress, night vision, display design, and cognitive workload testing.

His background in aerospace engineering, avionics engineering, and human factors psychology built a foundation to support the U.S. Navy combat avionics directorate and serve as a liaison between government and industry stakeholders during the development of Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) and the implementation of Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (RVSM) equipage criteria in the North Atlantic.

He has also had the opportunity to test novel designs in a microgravity environment aboard NASA’s KC-130 “Weightless Wonder V” where he and a team of peers conducted usability testing on a new tool design for use during astronaut extravehicular activity.

Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR)

Throughout his career, Mr. St.Clair has had the opportunity to continuously participate in the evolution of C4ISR systems and their respective user interfaces. This work has included not only aircraft, ship, and unmanned systems interface design, but has extended to large-scale command center operations such as the U.S. Coast Guard Interagency Operations Centers (IOC) and information management suites (IOC WatchKeeper). In this capacity he has assisted the integration of data fusion capabilities and informed display design. This display design includes symbology, labeling, color, task flows, information presentation, cognitive workload testing, and usability analysis.

Strategic Planning

Mr. St.Clair currently provides strategic planning support to the FAA Human Factors Division for NextGen research planning. In this capacity, he coordinates stakeholder inputs across the agency in an effort to align strategic research objectives, activities, and desired outcomes.

Human Systems Integration

Throughout his career, Mr. St.Clair facilitated the adoption of HSI from the very strategic to the very tactical levels of program management. He has authored several Human Systems Integration Plans (HSIPs) for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and the FAA. These HSIPs serve as key communication tools to capture and then execute all HSI activities required to successfully acquire new systems and account for all critical human considerations.