Two faculty from the Wm Michael Barnes ’64 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University received awards from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), demonstrating their accomplishments in education, practice and professional service in human factors engineering.
Dr. Nancy Currie-Gregg was awarded the 2021 Paul M. Fitts Education Award, presented to an individual in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments in human factors engineering education and training. Dr. Farzan Sasangohar was awarded the 2021 William C. Howell Young Investigator Award, recognizing his scientific contributions that demonstrate emerging influence in human factors and ergonomics.
Currie-Gregg, professor of engineering practice in industrial and systems engineering and aerospace engineering, has research interests that include aerospace human systems integration, human-robot interaction, and quantitative risk-analysis and systems safety engineering.
She received a bachelor’s in biological sciences from The Ohio State University, a master’s in safety engineering from the University of Southern California and a doctorate in industrial engineering at the University of Houston.
“I greatly appreciate this recognition from HFES. It was a great honor reading the comments submitted by my former students,” Currie-Gregg said. “Reading accounts of how their classroom experiences at Texas A&M impacted their professional development as engineers is the greatest honor.”
Sasangohar, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering, also received the 2021 Bentzi Karsh Early-Career Service Award, presented to an individual for their outstanding contributions and professional service and outreach as an early-career professional in human factors and ergonomics. This is the first time in HFES history that these two awards have been presented to one individual.
“I am grateful and truly honored that both my scholarly work and service to profession have been recognized by my professional society,” Sasangohar said. “Winning these awards would not have been possible without the inspiration I have received from my advisors, mentors, students and colleagues.”
His research interests include understanding and improving human decision making in safety-critical work environments using a wide range of analytical techniques and technological innovations, including remote monitoring of health and performance.
Sasangohar received a bachelor’s in information technology from York University, a bachelor’s in computer science and master’s in systems design engineering from the University of Waterloo, a master’s in engineering systems from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate in industrial engineering from the University of Toronto.