Professor Pradhan is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is co-director of the Human Performance Laboratory. Professor Pradhan has conducted studies on driver safety, with focus on hazard anticipation and distraction, and design and evaluation of mitigation strategies. His research has also examined effects of distraction, passenger presence, and the impact of vehicle technology, on drivers. He has also conducted research on the role of in-vehicle monitoring & feedback on driver safety, and specifically conducted research exploring its impact on long haul truck drivers as a behavioral based safety intervention. He has also conducted research on the human factors of vehicle automation, including the impact on drivers’ mental models and trust, and the role of education and training. He has studied drivers’ take-over reactions in vehicle automation in various contexts including driver age characteristics, fostering trust, effects of emotion, driving monitoring systems, and predicting readiness for takeover.

Professor Pradhan has authored over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, technical reports, and book chapters, and over 25 conference papers. He is a Contributing Editor of the Journal of Law and Mobility, and serves as peer reviewer for various journals in the transportation safety and human factors domain. He serves on various Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committees including Simulation and Vehicle and Operator Performance Measurement, and Operator Education and Regulation, and subcommittees including Young Drivers, and Human Factors in Road Vehicle Automation. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM) (as chair of the Special Interest Group on Automated Vehicles, and member of the Scientific Program Committee), the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), and was past-chair of the Surface Transportation Technical Group of the HFES. Professor Pradhan's research has been funded by external sponsors such as the US Department of Transportation, the National Institute of Health, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the auto industry, the Insurance industry and others.