ACE member feature – Dan Robinson
ROBINSON ERGONOMICS INC.
How long have you been an ACE member for?
I believe that I first became a student member in 1991 when the then HFAC conference was held in Vancouver. I gave my first conference presentation there and was awarded the Julien M Christensen Award for best graduate student paper.
How did you first become interested in ergonomics?
I first heard about ergonomics during my Masters work at SFU in the School of Kinesiology. I was studying tree planters throughout BC on a grant that had been awarded to Thomas J. Smith and Eric Banister. Along with another graduate student, David Trites, we looked at a variety of issues related to pesticide exposure, musculoskeletal injuries, fatigue and training/skill development. During this research, I first learned about the field of ergonomics.
ACE member feature – Larissa Fedorowich
How long have you been an ACE member for?
I joined the association as a student member in 2014 after starting my Masters’ in the Occupational Biomechanics and Ergonomics Laboratory at McGill University.
How did you first become interested in ergonomics?
Coming from a Kinesiology background, I have always had an interest in sports-related injury prevention and mechanics of the body. My interest in biomechanics and injury prevention was grounded in the statement of my Masters’ supervisor Dr. Julie Côté when she commented: ‘treat the worker as an athlete’. This resonated for me as something I identify as a pivotal moment when the proverbial ‘lightbulb’ went off. At the time I was working on my thesis research project quantifying the effects of modifying computer work posture (sitting, standing, walking on a treadmill) on neck/shoulder patterns during a typing task. This was my first introduction to innovative approaches to bring us to current norms of the quarantined work from home experience that many people have rapidly adopted.
ACE member feature – Dr. Steven Fischer
How long have you been an ACE member for?
I first joined ACE as a student member in 2005 if my memory is correct. My first exposure to ACE was as a presenter at an ACE Atlantic regional meeting that was hosted by Nancy Black at the Université de Moncton.
How did you first become interested in ergonomics?
My first exposures to ergonomics came during my 3rd year of undergrad. I enrolled in a research internship course in Dr. Richard Wells' lab. As a research intern, I helped his research team, led by his research assistant at the time, Tanya Morose, to conduct a study investigating relationships between EMG, grip force and perceived effort. The opportunity to witness Richard's passion for ergonomics and to learn about the ins and outs of ergonomics research under Tanya's day-to-day mentorship in the lab had me hooked.