Alan Hedge

 

Alan Hedge

Professor
2415 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall
Design and Environmental Analysis
 
Phone: (607) 255-1957 Fax: (607) 255-0305
Email: ah29@cornell.edu
View Cornell University Contact Info
Curriculum Vitae
 
Biographical Statement:

Alan Hedge is a Professor in the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University and a Research Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Syracuse University. His research and teaching activities focus on issues of design and workplace ergonomics as these affect the health, comfort and productivity of workers. His research themes include workstation design, computer ergonomics and carpal tunnel syndrome risk factors for workers, alternative keyboard and input system designs, the performance and health effects of postural strain, and the health and comfort impacts of various environmental stressors, such as the effects of indoor air quality effects on sick building syndrome complaints among office workers, and the effects of office lighting on eyestrain problems among computer workers. He has co-authored a books on Healthy Buildings, co-edited Advances in Ergonomics Modeling and Usability and the Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics Methods, published 35 chapters, 55 peer-review journal articles and 136 refereed proceedings articles, 40 unrefereed conference proceedings, 15 technical reports, and 125 additional conference presentations on  ergonomics and related topics. He received the 2009 Oliver K. Hansen Outreach Award and the 2003 Alexander J. Williams Jr. Design Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society for "outstanding human factors contributions to the design of a major operational system".


His professional activities are extensive. He is a Certified Professional Ergonomist. He is a Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, the Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (formerly the UK Ergonomics Society), and the International Ergonomics Association. He is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a founding member of the International Society for Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ). He is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. He is on the editorial board of the journals Ergonomics, Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Journal of Human Environment Systems, and the Journal of Architectural and Planning Research. He is past president of the Environmental Psychology division of the International Association of Applied Psychology, and past chair of the Organizational Design and Management Technical Group of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, the US/ISO TAG SC5 committee of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, and the Work Environment technical group of the International Ergonomics Society (IEA). In 2011 he was appointed as the IEA Representative on Environmental Design.

He is extensively cited in the national and international media and has appeared on several TV and radio programs, indeed the current President of the International Ergonomics Association recently said "he is perhaps the most often cited ergonomist in the media".

 

 
Teaching and Advising Statement:

 

I strive for excellence in my teaching.  In my 3500 and 3250 level undergraduate classes not all of the material is the most fascinating content and with these classes being at 8:40 AM this does not necessarily help in engaging students and interestig them in the topics covered. Nonetheless, I think that these courses are quite successful, and I try to keep it my course content as current as possible and I try to engage students in many different ways, for example, in 3250 I do this through pracical homework projects. In my 4700 course students work in teams as simulated consulting companies and each student participoates in 2 different teams, 1 per half semester, and works on a different project in each team, 1 physical and 1 cognitive ergonomics/user experience project. All students have to orally present their ideas and then their results to these real-world clients. Where possile this work is done with real-world clients. My graduate 6520 class runs as a seminar series in which students learn how to reda and critique scientific articles, and assemble materials into a coherent literature review. In 6510 graduate students participate in a series of human factors exercises esigned to illustrate the capabilities ad limitations of human information processing performance, and they work as a team on an ergonomics evaluation project, usually on a new computer-use related product with a real-world client. In my 6700 class graduate spend a semester working on a real-world ergonomics project with a real-world client and these vary from year to year. I try to teach student the fundamental knowledge, skills, methods and applications necessary to be a proficient ergonomist in a real-world setting. I try to encourage them to formulate innovative solutions based on good science and practice. I see my role as that of bringing out the best in my students and guide them as they acquire greater competences.

 
Current Professional Activities:

Cornell Center for Sustainable Futures Faculty Fellow
Fellow, The Institute for Human Factors and Ergonomics (formerly the UK Ergonomics Society)
Fellow, The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
Fellow, International Ergonomics Society
Member, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America
Associate Fellow of The British Psychological Society (AFBPsS)
Founding Member, International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate

Certified Professional Ergonomist (BCPE)

Editorial board, Ergonomics
Editorial Board, Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics
Editorial Board, Journal of Environmental Psychology
Editorial Board, Work
Editorial Board, International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics,
Editorial board, The Open Ergonomics Journal

Editorial board, SpineUniverse (website)
Editorial board, HealthyComputing (website)

Member, Applied Ergonomics International Healthcare & Professional Program Committee
Member of the National Ergonomics Industry Advisory Board
Member of the International Conference Program Advisory Board,Organizational Design and Management
Member, NYSTAR/EQS Strategic and Technical Advisory Committee

 
Current Research Activities:

Research activities this year have focused on indoor air quality and productivity in offices, the effects of a personal ventilation control system on comfort and performance; ergonomic design considerations for healthcare information technologies;  green ergonomics and health and comfort issues in LEED certtified buildings; the impact of ergonomic office products on comfort and health including the ergonomic design of computer mice, sit-stand workstations and environmental design factor that impact workplace creativity.

 
Education:
  • Ph.D. 1979 - University of Sheffield
    Cognitive Psychology
  • M.S. 1972 - Aston University
    Applied Psychology
  • M.S. 1971 - University of Sheffield
    Zoology
  • B.S. 1970 - University of Sheffield
    Zoology (1st class special honors)

 
Courses Taught:
  • Undergraduate Courses
  1. DEA 3250 - Human Factors: Ergonomics-Anthropometrics
  2. DEA 3500/6520 - Human Factors: the Ambient Environment
  3. DEA 4000 - Directed readings
  4. DEA 4700- Applied Ergonomic Methods (not offered - on sabbatical)
  5. DEA 4990 - Honors Thesis
  • Graduate Courses
  1. DEA 6000/6010/6020 - Special Problems for Graduate Students
  2. DEA 6510 - Human Factors: Ergonomics-Anthropometrics
  3. DEA 6520 - Human Factors: the Ambient Environment
  4. DEA 6700 - Applied Ergonomic Methods (not offered - on sabbatical)
  5. DEA 8990 - Thesis - (Masters)
  6. DEA 9990 - Thesis (PhD)

 
Related Websites:

Cornell University Ergonomics Web
http://ergo.human.cornell.edu

 
Administrative Responsibilities:

I coordinate the activities of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratories, and provide the technical input to maintain the equipment and computer resources required to run studies in these labs.

 

 
Selected Publications:

Hedge, A. and Dorsey, J. (2012) Green Buildings need Good Ergonomics, Ergonomics, (in press). Electronic preprint: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00140139.2012.718367

Hugine, A., Guerlain, S. and Hedge, A. (2012) User Evaluation of an innovative digital reading room, Journal of Digital Imaging , 25 (3),337-346.                                                                               

Hedge, A. and James, T. (2012) Gender Effects on Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Physician Computer Users in Outpatient Diagnostic Clinics, In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 56th Annual Meeting, October 22-26, Boston, MA. 887-891.

Chung, S.S.E. and Hedge, A. (2012) A LISREL Analysis of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Office Workers, In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 56th Annual Meeting, October 22-26, Boston, MA. 1283-1287.

Zeng, X., Hedge, A. and Guimbretiere, F. (2012) Fitts’ Law in 3D Space with Coordinated Hand Movements, In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 56th Annual Meeting, October 22-26, Boston, MA, 990-994.

Bazeley, C., Vink, P. and Hedge, A. (2012) The Influence of Expectations and Pre-experiences on Comfort at Work, In Proceedings of the 4th international Conference on Applied Human Factors & Ergonomics 2012, July 21-25, San Francisco, CA, 7870-7878.

Scolere, L., Reid, B., Pardo, C.A., Meron, G., Licero, J. and Hedge, A. (2012) Making Electronic Infographics Enjoyable: Design Guidelines based on Eye Tracking, In Proceedings of the 4th international Conference on Applied Human Factors & Ergonomics 2012, July 21-25, San Francisco, CA, 8037-8046.

Agarwal, M.K, Hedge, A. and Ibrahim, S. (2012) “Will they buy my product - effect of UID & Brand”, In Proceedings of the 4th international Conference on Applied Human Factors & Ergonomics 2012, July 21-25, San Francisco, CA, 6110-6119.

Hedge, A. and James, T. (2012) Ergonomic issues of computer use in a major healthcare system, In Proceedings of the 4th international Conference on Applied Human Factors & Ergonomics 2012, July 21-25, San Francisco, C, 2630-2639.

 

 
Searchable Keywords:
Ergonomics, Human Factors, Cognitive Ergonomics, Human-computer interaction, Indoor air quality, Productivity, Sick building syndrome, office ergonomics, workplace design, work-related musculoskeletal injuries, green ergonomics. 

 
The information on this bio page is taken from the CHE Annual Report.