Adjunct Professor
(505) 699-9462
Office hours: By appointment only
- M.S., Human Factors and Systems Safety
- Ph.D., Social Science
- Airline Transport License (Type Rated in L-382 and DA-20)
- Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI, CFII)
- Certified Accident Investigator (USAF, USN and USC)
Ivan Pupulidy is an adjunct professor and consultant who applies his experience and research to bettering operations in complex systems and high-risk environments, such as wildland firefighting, aviation, military, and medicine. As a U.S. Forest Service Director, he developed and implemented the Learning Review, which is a process designed to improve how large and small organizations respond to accidents and incidents. The Learning Review is centered on understanding the actions and decisions of workers, by mapping systemic conditions that influence human actions. As a director his group was challenged with the responsibility of leading the research associated with cultural change in the U.S. Forest Service.
Ivan’s ability to integrate academic research with real world application comes from his varied life experiences, which have included work as a mine geologist, exploration geophysicist, and a U.S. Coast Guard pilot for rescue and law enforcement missions. He served in the U.S. Air Guard and Air Force Reserves, where he flew the C-130 Hercules, including missions as a Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS) tanker pilot on wildland fires. He also served on active military operations for combat and humanitarian support in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Central Africa.
Ivan earned a Master of Science degree in Human Factors and Systems Safety at Lund University, Sweden, under Professor Sidney Dekker. He completed his Ph.D. in Social Science at Tilburg University, Netherlands. He now brings his academic credentials and real-world experiences to the University of Alabama at Birmingham as an Adjunct Professor.
Ivan is an international consultant and organizational coach who focuses on topics related to human factors, Organizational Culture, real-time risk perspectives, HOP, learning from events, organizational dialogue, development of high-leverage learning products, and the connection between resilience and high reliability organizing.