Education
Ph.D., George Mason University
M.B.A., Stanford University
B.A., Harvard University
Professional Experience
1989 to Present – Professor, George Mason University
1987 to 1989 – Associate Administrator, U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Admin
1985 to 1987 – Policy Director, U.S. Department of Energy
1983 to 1985 – Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Treasury
1981 to 1982 – Executive Director, California Republican Party
1976 to 1980 – Editor, Conservative Digest
1968 to 1975 – Director, Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University
1965 to 1967 – Lieutenant, U.S. Army (including paratrooper service in Vietnam)
Dr. Benson's research work currently focuses on intelligent transportation systems, and he teaches courses on the policy process, program evaluation, and composition.
As Research Professor at the School of Information Technology and Engineering at George Mason University, Dr. Benson worked on technology diffusion issues, including projects for the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy.
Dr. Benson served as Associate Administrator of Budget and Policy at the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (subsequently renamed the Federal Transit Administration), where he concentrated on promoting public-private partnerships.
Dr. Benson was Policy Director at the U. S. Department of Energy, where his responsibilities included directing preparation of the 50,000-word 1985 National Energy Policy Plan and testifying to Congress on the Staggers Rail De-regulation Act.
Dr. Benson was Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he was a speechwriter for Secretary Donald Regan.
At Stanford University, Dr. Benson served as Director of the Hoover Institution Press for seven years, publishing some 150 books on economic and national security policy. He also served as press officer.
Publications & Research
Research focus: Intelligent transportation systems user acceptance
Benson, B.G., "Transportation Information Systems" (chapter 32, pages 477-488) in Kenneth J. Button and David A. Hensher (eds.), Handbook of Transport Systems and Traffic Control, Amsterdam: Pergamon, 2001.
Benson, B.G., "The Variable Message Sign System of Northern Virginia", in Intelligent Transport Systems: Cases and Policies, ed. Roger Stough, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2001.
Benson, B.G., "Motorist Attitudes towards Variable Message Signs", Transportation Research Record No. 1550, pp. 48-57.
Benson, B.G., "ITS: To Be or Not To Be", ITS Quarterly, Fall 1998-Winter 1999 issue, page 13.
Benson, B.G., "Variable Message Signs: The Technology to Watch", cover story in ITS Quarterly, Spring 1996.
Benson, B.G., "ITS Education in American Universities", cover story in ITS Quarterly, Winter 1996. A similar article appeared in Proceedings of the Third World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Orlando, Florida, 1996.
Benson, B.G., "Markets for Advanced Traveler Information Systems", Modeling and Simulation.
Benson, B.G., J.L. Gifford, and T. Seest, Using Kiosks to Promote Transit: A Pilot Project in Northern Virginia. Draft. U.S. Federal Transit Administration.
Benson, B.G., "Light Rail Transit in Montgomery County, Maryland", New Electric Railway Journal, Summer, 1992.
Benson, B.G., "Where Are the Emperor's Clothes? Japanese HDTV Never Lived Up to Its Promise, and Its Future Is in Doubt", Washington Technology, March 10, 1994.
Benson, B.G., and Sage, A.P., "Case Studies of Systems Management for Emerging Technology Development", in Human/Technology Interaction in Complex Systems, ed. William B. Rouse, Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, 1995.
Benson, B.G., A.P. Sage, and G.R. Cook, "Emerging Technology Evaluation Methodology: With Application to Micro-electromechanical Systems", IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol. 40, No. 2, May 1993.
Stough, Roger R. and Brien Benson, "Public Transport in North America on the Track to Privatization: Impacts on Society", presented at STELLA-STAR Focus Group 3: Society, Behavior and Public/Private Transport, Bonn, Germany, April 12 – 13, 2002.