Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics (OEB) Laboratories
Our Motto
UT PROSIM THAT I MAY SERVE
Welcome to the Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Laboratories
The Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics (OEB) Laboratories conduct work in theoretical and applied ergonomics, occupational biomechanics, and work physiology, primarily relating to worksite, workstation, and equipment evaluation and design. Specifically, research is focused on:
- Biomechanics of the human body (modeling, strength, motions, and working postures);
- Human engineering of systems, equipment, tools, workstations, and work tasks;
- Ergonomic design for safety, efficiency, and performance.
Major application domains for the work in the laboratories are manufacturing, construction, and healthcare. The Laboratories consist of several rooms, which are used as needed for research, development, and evaluation. Those Laboratories are well equipped to do research in a variety of areas.
New article Occupational arm-support and back-support exoskeletons elicit changes in reactive balance after slip-like and trip-like perturbations on a treadmill by Sunwook Kim, Maury Nussbaum, and Michael Madigan was published in Applied Ergonomics. (November 2023)
Go to Recent Publication page
OEB Lab Co-Director Maury Nussbaum and his Ph.D students Ahmad Raza Usmani, Wally Morris, and Aanu Ojelade, were featured on their exoskeleton effectiveness research with construction workers in Virginia Tech Video (October 2023).
Sydney Kelley successfully defended her thesis, "Investigating the Relationship Between Objective and Subjective Measures of Physical Demand During Passive Exoskeleton Use" and started working as Ergonomics Engineer at Cintas. Congrats, Sydney! (September 2023)
Welcome new M.S. and Ph.D students to the OEB Labs! (September 2023)
- Jiwon Choi (Ph.D.)
- Jung Hoon Chung (M.S.)
- Ajit Gopal (M.S.)
- Alex Noll (M.S.)
OEB Lab Co-Director Mike Madigan and his Ph.D students, Youngjae Lee and Michelle Morris, were featured on their wearable sensor research and training in Virginia Tech News (August 2023).