He evaluated personal comfort zones of individuals in different situations , which is affected by national culture , the degree to which people are intimate with one another , mental health , and other factors . He coined the terms " intimate distance " , the narrowest zone ; " touch zone " ; " no touch zone " ; and the widest zone , " personal comfort zone " . Fruin was a consultant to the investigation into The Who concert disaster of 1979 . He also was an adjunct professor at Polytechnic . Now retired , he was formerly employed as a research engineer by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey . For his research on pedestrian traffic , he received the American Society of Civil Engineers Transportation Engineering Award in 1983 . He was a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society , a Fellow of the Institute of Transportation Engineers , and a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers
The Who concert disaster
The Who concert disaster
John J. Fruin