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| Lab Mission |
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- Develop new knowledge in ergonomics and human performance.
- Develop effective cognitive and physical work technologies.
- Improve the quality of work life.
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| Focus Areas and General Approaches |
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- Cognitive Ergonomics
- Problem Identification: performance errors, accidents, loss of life
- Cognitive Risk Factor identification: Workload, vigilance decrements, complacency, loss of situation awareness, skill decay
- Solutions: Cognitive work analysis, decision modeling, ecological interface design, coginitive modeling and simulation, human-centered automation design, collaborative/team research
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- Physical Ergonomics
- Problem Identification: Injuries, diseases
- Epidemiological Risk Factor identification: Biomechanical, physiological, psychophysical, psychosocial
- Interventions: Biomechanical models, administrative controls engineering design, screening, training
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| Current Specific Aims |
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- Cognitive Ergonomics
- Assess the influence of technology on human performance in transportation domains.
- Identify task, environment, and user factors mediating the relation of situation awareness and human-machine performance in complex systems.
- Test hypotheses on human cognition in aviation-related tasks using simulation and computational models.
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- Physical Ergonomics
- Design interventions to reduce repetitive stress injuries.
- Develop biomechanical models and simulations of lifting performance.
- Use virtual reality (VR) to assess the role of perception in slips and falls.
- Develop causal models of worker injury.
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| Areas of Future Research |
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- Human Robot Interaction:
- Design of robot interfaces to support patient medicine delivery and remote doctor-patient consultation.
- Interface design for pharmacist/nurse use of hospital robots in common nursing tasks.
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- Pilot Automation Interaction:
- Develop real-time models of pilot behavior for flight error prediciton.
- Embedding pilot cognitive models in cockpit automation design tools.
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- Repetitive Stress Injuries:
- Use lab and field research approaches to address lost-time injuries occuring in National Occupation Research Agenda sectors.
- Develop an ergonomics checklist/quick guide for hazard recognition, evaluation, and control in maintenance tasks.
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- Driving Situation Awareness:
- Design and evaluate adaptive in-vehicle aiding technologies for driver SA and performance.
- Assess the role of driver age and cognitive abilities on performance and situation awareness under hazardous conditions.
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| Degrees Awarded |
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- Masters of Industrial Engineering (MIE - non-thesis option)
- Masters of Science (MSIE - thesis option)
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
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| Available Student Support |
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- NASA - Research Assistantships
- National Science Foundation (NSF) - Research Assistantships
- The Ergonomics Center of North Carolina - Internships and Research Assistantships
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) - Trainee Fellowships
(Please contact ergonomics faculty for additional information.)
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