We have two great keynote speakers lined up for ASB 2015, covering topics that are both state of the art and new to many members.
Bill Marras – The Ohio State University
Dr. Marras holds the Honda Chair in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering at the Ohio State University. He received his MS (Human Factors Engineering) and PhD (Bioengineering and Ergonomics) from Wayne State University. He serves as the director of the Biodynamics Laboratory, Spine Research Institute, the Center for Occupational Health in Automobile Manufacturing and is Executive Director for the Institute for Ergonomics. He has been widely recognized for his contributions through numerous national and international awards including two Volvo Awards for Low Back Pain Research and an honorary Sc.D. degree. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of Human Factors and is currently Deputy Editor ofSpine. In 2009 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Recently he recorded a TEDx talk entitled “Back Pain and your Brain” and was named President Elect of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. His research is centered on understanding multidimensional causal pathways for spine disorders through quantitative epidemiologic evaluations, laboratory biomechanics studies, personalized mathematical modeling, and clinical studies of the lumbar and cervical spine. Outside of academia he enjoys sailing and music.
Allison M. Okamura – Stanford University
Dr. Okamura received her BS degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1994, and her MS and PhD degrees from Stanford University in 1996 and 2000, respectively, all in mechanical engineering. She is currently an Associate Professor in the mechanical engineering department at Stanford University. She was previously Professor and Vice Chair of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University. She has been an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Haptics, an editor of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation Conference Editorial Board, and co-chair of the IEEE Haptics Symposium. Her awards include the 2009 IEEE Technical Committee on Haptics Early Career Award, the 2005 IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Early Academic Career Award, and the 2004 NSF CAREER Award. She is an IEEE Fellow. Her research interests are in the areas of haptics, teleoperation, virtual environments and simulators, medical robotics, neuromechanics and rehabilitation, prosthetics, and engineering education. Outside academia, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, running, and playing ice hockey.