William S. Marras, Ph.D., CPE
Director, Professor
William S. Marras is a professor and holds the Honda Endowed Chair in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering at the Ohio State University. He also is the director of the Biodynamics Laboratory and the Center for Occupational Health in Automobile Manufacturing. He is also the Executive Director of the Insitute for Ergonomics. Dr. Marras holds joint appointments in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Physical Medicine, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. His research is centered on occupational biomechanics issues including workplace biomechanical epidemiologic studies, laboratory biomechanic studies, mathematical modeling, and clinical studies of the back and wrist. His findings have been published in over 195 peer reviewed journal articles and numerous books and book chapters including a recent book entitled “The Working Back: A systems view.” His work has attracted national as well as international recognition. He is a two time winner (1993 and 2002) of the prestigious Swedish Volvo Award for Low Back Pain Research as well as Austria's Vienna Award for Physical Medicine and the Liberty Mutual Prize for Injury Prevention Research. Dr. Marras was awarded an honorary Dr. Sci. degree from the University of Waterloo for his work on the biomechanics of low back disorders. He has been elected fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, and the Ergonomics Society, and the International Ergonomics Association. Professor Marras currently serves as the Chair of the Committee on Human Systems Integration at the National Research Council as well as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Human Factors. In 2009 was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (the National Academies).
Ehud Mendel, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Clinical Director, Professor
Dr. Ehud Mendel graduated from the Lousiana State University School Of Medicine with a MD and has been in the profession for over 16 years. His clinical interests include minimally invasive spine surgery, surgery for primary and metastatic spine and brain tumors, and the application of local delivery technologies to the treatment of brain and
spine tumors.
Steven A. Lavender, Ph.D., CPE
Associate Professor
Steven Lavender has been with the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering since 2002. Prior to joining OSU, Dr. Lavender worked as a research scientist at Rush University medical Center in Chicago for 12 years. There he pursued both laboratory based and field projects focused on spine biomechanics and workplace ergonomics. H e is a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), American Industrial Hygiene Association, Orthopaedic Research Society, the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine, American Society of Biomechanics,
Carolyn M. Sommerich, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Carolyn M. Sommerich is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering at OSU and holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Industrial Engineering at North Carolina State University . She received her PhD from OSU in 1994. Her research focus is ergonomics and occupational biomechanics, with special interests in the upper body, upper extremities, office ergonomics, and ergonomics issues affecting young people. She has authored or co-authored 10 book chapters and written papers on a range of ergonomics topics, including work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the shoulder, assessment of carpal tunnel pressure during keyboarding, and changes in patterns of trunk muscle activity in response to lifting task requirements. She serves on the editorial boards of three peer-reviewed journals; she is a past chair of the Ergonomics Committee of the American Industrial Hygiene Association and is currently an at-large member of the Executive Council of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
Gary Allread, Ph.D., CPE
Program Director, Institute for Ergonomics
Gary is the Program Director for the Institute for Ergonomics, of which the Biodynamics Laboratory is a part. He received his Ph.D. in ergonomics & biomechanics in 2000. He is responsible for developing and coordinating activities for the Institute within the College of Engineering and the University as well as with off-site industries and organizations. These involve: seeking educational opportunities for graduate students; overseeing ergonomics research projects; and providing ergonomics technical assistance to clients. For more information regarding the Institute, please visit their web site at: ergonomics.osu.edu.
Sue A. Ferguson, Ph.D., CPE
Senior Research Engineer
Sue is a Senior Research Associate/Engineer with the Biodynamics Lab. She received a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 1998. Her research focuses on the quantitative assessment of the functional improvement in low back pain patients using various treatments, and determining the optimal point in the recovery process to return to work.
Gregory Knapik
Senior Research Engineer
Greg is a Senior Research Associate/Engineer with The Ohio State Biodynamics Laboratory. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at The Ohio State University. His research focuses on advanced biomechanical model development, applied ergonomic and biomechanical studies.
Peter A. Schabo
Research Engineer
A Research Associate/Engineer. He completed his BSIE from The Ohio State University in 1973. Pete was a Project Engineer for Ashland Chemical Company in Dublin, Ohio and most recently a Senior Industrial Engineer for Abbott Laboratories, Ross Products Div. in Columbus. At Ross, Pete was involved in a wide variety of industrial engineering disciplines including ergonomic assessments, design and upgrades. Pete retired from Ross in 2000. Pete is the COHAM manager, for more information on COHAM please visit their website at: coham.osu.edu
Candi C. McCain
Administrative Associate
Candi is the Lab's Administrative Associate. She manages the Biodynamics Laboratory, computer laboratory administration, and provides administrative support to the laboratory director. She also prepares proposals and budgets for submission to external research sponsors and provides fiscal management for departmental and Research Foundation accounts.
