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 Shoulder kinematics during cyclic overhead work are affected by a passive arm support exoskeleton by Sunwook Kim and Maury Nussbaum was published in Applied Ergonomics. (July 2024)
New article Teleoperator-Robot-Human Interaction in Manufacturing: Perspectives from Industry, Robot Manufacturers, and Researchers by Sunwook Kim, Maury Nussbaum and Sol Lim was published in IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors. (May 2024)
Go to Recent Publication page
A Ph.D. candidate, Youngjae Lee, successfully defended his dissertation, "Non-Treadmill Trip Training - Laboratory Efficacy, Validation of Inertial Measurement Units, and Tripping Kinematics in the Real-World," on April 30, 2024. Congratulations, Dr. Lee! (May 2024)
Go to Faculty and Students page
New article Wearing a back-support exoskeleton alters lower-limb joint kinetics during single-step recovery following a forward loss of balance by Michael Madigan, Sunwook Kim, and Maury Nussbaum was published in Journal of Biomechanics. (April 2024)
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).
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).