SYSTEM SAFETY
	Research at the Center for Ergonomics is concerned with the development of frameworks, methods, and models for analyzing and preventing mishaps and complex system failures in a variety of domains. Application areas include air and ground transportation, health care, manufacturing, process control, and consumer products. Using a systems approach and/or epidemiology, we examine the contribution of cognitive/perceptual, technological, and organizational factors to incidents and accidents in these workplaces. Of special interest is the role of training, design, reliability, and procedures in the occurrence of errors, hardware failure, and deliberate violations of standard practice. The overall goal of this work is to develop tools that help prevent and manage erroneous actions by end users as well as increase resilience and create a safety culture at all levels of an organization.
	COGNITIVE ERGONOMICS
	Cognitive Ergonomics is the leading edge of modern ergonomics. It refers to the operator's ability to understand how a system works, so that safety and efficiency are maintained. For example, transportation ergonomics is based upon models of operator attention and performance that reflect how people function when controlling airplances and ground vehicles. Ergonomic guidelines for the design of in-vehicle systems are based upon principles of cognitive ergonomics.
		Multimodal Interfaces
		Investigators in the Center for Ergonomics are conducting research to support timely and effective information sharing among human and machine agents through the distribution of information across multiple media and modalities (including vision, audition, and touch). One area of interest is promising applications and implementations of tactile interfaces; a second thrust is the examination of crossmodal spatial and temporal links in attention. Based on empirical findings, guidance is being developed for the design and adaptation of multimodal interfaces and the integrated use of various sensory channels in support of functions such as time sharing, synergy, disambiguation, and substitution.
		Attention and Interruption Management
		Effective attention and interruption management continues to pose a major challenge for operators in data-rich event-driven domains. Investigators in the area of Cognitive Ergonomics conduct research to achieve a better understanding of, and learn how to manipulate, the interplay between top-down and bottom-up mechanisms involved in attention control. They develop support for preattentive reference as a means of assisting operators in handling competing attentional demands. Overall, the findings from this line of research inform the design of tools and intelligent systems that support operators in managing tasks and attentional resources more effectively and in avoiding performance breakdowns due to unnecessary disruptions of ongoing mental activities.
		Cognitive Modeling
		Investigators at the Center for Ergonomics are developing computational models of human performance and cognition, both for theoretical understanding and for proactive ergonomics design. A unique approach being investigated is the queueing network theory of human performance, which represents the human mind and behavioral system as a queueing network of information processing servers. The queueing network model has not only mathematical structure and rigor, but also computational power to generate/simulate behavior in real time. For example, it is able to steer a driving simulator in real time, while allowing a researcher to visualize "mental workload" as the internal information flows inside "the mind."
		Engineering Aesthetics
		The design of modern human-machine-environment systems should not only consider traditional human factors issues such as usability, safety, and performance, but also aesthetic and affective factors. Researchers at the Center for Ergonomics are investigating how to use mathematical, scientific, and engineering methods to study aesthetic and affective concepts and how to apply these concepts in design. Research in this area are carried out in a variety of domains including automotive design and manufacturing, web page design, advertising, web-base distance education, and visual interfaces.
	BIOMECHANICS
	The form of biomechanics practiced within the Center for Ergonomics is consistent with a common definition of what is referred to as "Functional Biomechnics" today. It was defined in a 1980 book by Frankel and Nordin:
		"[Functional]Biomechanics uses laws of physics and engineering concepts to describe motion undergone by the various body segments, and the forces acting on these body parts during normal daily activities."
	DISABILITY STUDIES
	Investigators in the Center for Ergonomics have contributed to our understanding of work-related causes of musculoskeletal pain in the low back and upper extremity, carpal tunnel syndrome, and tendonitis. This knowledge draws on biomechanical studies that show how exertions, postures and movements of the body produce mechanical stresses on affected tissues, laboratory studies in which human subjects with and without musculoskeletal disorders demonstrate their work capacities, and field studies that show how work patterns are related to patterns of musculoskeletal disorders. Data and models from Center studies are widely used for prevention of musculoskeletal disorders and have contributed to several national health guidelines.