Professional Experience

Dr. Donelson researches the use and effects of alcohol and other drugs, both alone and in combination. In areas of pharmacology and toxicology, he has examined relationships between the presence, concentration, and actions of psychoactive drugs; the effects of drugs on human behavior; and consequences of drug-influenced behavior. Dr. Donelson has studied the dual role of alcohol as a crash-risk factor as well as an injury-aggravating factor, especially spinal cord injury.

Throughout his career, Dr. Alan Donelson has also pursued the statistical study of motor vehicle crashes, their causes and consequences. He specializes in solving complex problems involving multiple variables, for example, to estimate the relative importance of risk factors – human, vehicular, and environmental. In the area of motor vehicle risk analysis, Dr. Donelson’s investigations have focused on vehicle rollover, post-collision fire, occupant injury, and vehicle crashworthiness.

In July 2006, Dr. Donelson joined the staff of Principia TM Engineering Services, LLC (http://www.principia-eng.com/index.html). Principia focuses on the fundamental practice of failure analysis and accident reconstruction. Because most accident and failure investigations involve multi-disciplinary efforts, the firm’s work encompasses many disciplines of engineering and science. Dr. Donelson also serves as a Visiting Scholar with the Traffic Safety Center (TSC), University of California, Berkeley (http://www.tsc.berkeley.edu/html/home.html). The mission of the TSC is to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries through collaboration in education, research, and outreach. The TSC is a multidisciplinary venture led by the Institute of Transportation Studies and the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley.

Until April 2005, he served as a Principal Scientist with the engineering and scientific consulting firm Exponent Failure Analysis Associates, Inc. (Exponent). Before joining Exponent in 1989, Dr. Donelson had years of research experience with the Traffic Injury Research Foundation of Canada (1981–1989), the Highway Safety Research Institute (now, the Transportation Research Institute) at the University of Michigan (1976–1981), and the University of Michigan School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology (1975–1976).

Credentials and Professional Honors

Ph.D. (Pharmacology), Indiana University, 1976

B.A. (Chemistry), Earlham College, with Honors, 1969

Phi Beta Kappa; Sigma Xi

National Safety Council, Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs; International Council on Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Traffic Safety; Transportation Research Board, Committee on Statistical Methodology and Statistical Computer Software (member, 1998–2000); Society for Risk Analysis.