Dr. Hongwei Hsiao is a Professor and the Rogelio Benavides Memorial Chair with Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. His research covers big data and artificial intelligence for protective gear sizing and design for diverse workforces, first responder technology, personal protective equipment 3-dimensional dynamic fitting and performance assessment, hazard investigation and control, and multi-system smart technology integration. He is retired chief of the Protective Technology Branch and coordinator of the Center for Occupational Robotics Research, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).  He received his degrees from Cornell University and the University of Michigan and has held engineering and management positions in both the manufacturing industry and the U.S. Government. He also has taught human factors engineering for 20 years before joining Texas A&M University system.  Dr. Hsiao has headed numerous programs and projects in safety research. He also coordinated development of strategic goals for the NIOSH robotics center and managed center resources and seminars. He managed several laboratories for NIOSH, including the Virtual Reality, Anthropometry Research, High Bay, Vehicle Safety, Digital Modeling, Human Factors, Robotics Research, and Sensor Development Laboratories during 1996-2021.  He now directs the Safety Evaluation and Research (SEAR) Laboratory and coordinates a smart technology advancement research (STAR) initiative for industrial innovation for Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi.  An editorial board member for eight scientific journals, Dr. Hsiao has written or contributed over 180 publications and patents in human factors and engineering innovation for injury control. He was credentialed as a Silvio O. Conte Senior Biomedical Research Service Fellow by the Government Executive Resources Board in 2003. He is an Emeritus Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (US HFES) and Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (UK CIEHF).​

Dr. Lixiao Huang is an Associate Research Scientist at the Center for Human, Artificial Intelligence, and Robot Teaming (CHART) within Global Security Initiative (GSI) at Arizona State University. She completed her Ph.D. in Human Factors and Applied Cognition from North Carolina State University in 2016 and Postdoc in the Humans and Autonomy Lab (HAL) at Duke University in 2018. She is the founding chair of the Human–AI–Robot Teaming (HART) technical group at Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, advocating cutting-edge HART research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and advanced testbeds and analytics. She has worked on ARL, ONR, and DARPA research projects as a research lead. Dr. Huang's research interests include 1) Human–AI–Robot Teaming effectiveness; 2) Humans’ responses (i.e., emotional states, behavioral patterns, and cognitive processes) to robots and technologies, especially emotional attachment, intrinsic motivation, coordination, trust, and metacognition; 3) The design of human-robot systems using Human Factors methods to make AI and robots effective, safe, user-friendly, trustworthy, and engaging. 

Nia Jetter, Cybersecurity Track Co-Chair
Amazon

Nia Jetter is passionate about changing the world through innovation, technology planning, teaching, mentoring and solving tough problems in Autonomy and AI that can be applied across different platforms. She has a dedicated focus on helping people who may not have easy access to educational materials to understand topics like artificial intelligence.  Nia is enthusiastic about working the human-AI interface as artificial intelligence is further integrated into our society. 

Nia is an Aerospace Engineer who has 20 years of experience in the Aerospace Industry and has developed key algorithms in supporting a variety of programs across the product-lifecycle from design and development to mission and anomaly resolution and through customer delivery and support. In January 2021, Nia left the Aerospace Industry as a Technical Fellow to join Amazon as a Senior Principal Technologist in Robotics. In this role as a leader in technical development for autonomy as well as strategic planning for robotics and other autonomous applications, Nia has so far led an Autonomous Mobile Robot that will be deployed in an unstructured environment through Preliminary Construction Review for Safety Certification as well as establishing best engineering practices for the product as Chief Engineer.

Nia has a bachelor’s degree in Math with Computer Science and a minor in Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences from MIT as well as a Master’s Degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Stanford. Nia enjoys reading (especially science fiction), astronomy, baking, travelling and dancing. For more information, please see her website: www.niajetter.com.

Brian Laughlin, Extended Reality Track Chair
Boeing Research & Technology

Dr. Brian D. Laughlin, TF is a Technical Fellow and  Systems Engineer, for the Enterprise Point of Use in the area of Mobile, Wearables and Internet of Things (IoT), for Product Systems, serving both the Commercial and Military businesses at the Enterprise level.

Bill Marras, Exoskeletons Track Co-Chair
Ohio State University

Dr. Donald R. Peterson is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Northern Illinois University and served as the Dean of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology at NIU from 2017 to 2023.  He is also an affiliated professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).  Dr. Peterson is a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, majoring in Aerospace Engineering (BS) and Biomechanical Engineering (BS) and a graduate of the University of Connecticut, earning degrees in Mechanical Engineering (MS) and Biomedical Engineering (PhD).  Dr. Peterson’s experience in biomedical engineering and medical research has been focused on measuring and modeling injury biomechanics and human, organ, and cell performance, including exposures to various physical stimuli and the subsequent biological or physiological responses.  His research has involved the investigation of injury mechanisms and human–device interaction and has led to the generation of new technologies and systems, such as personal protection technologies, occupational exoskeleton systems, robotic exoskeleton assist devices for hemiplegic rehabilitation, long-duration biosensor monitoring and reporting systems, novel surgical and dental devices and instruments, smart medical devices for home patient care, and biotechnology systems.  Dr. Peterson currently serves as the Chair of the ASTM International Committee F48 on Exoskeletons and Exosuits, the Chair of the US Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for ISO / TC 108 on Mechanical Vibration, Shock, and Condition Monitoring, the Chair of ANSI S2 WG39, and S3 WG39, both on Human Exposure to Mechanical Vibration and Shock.  Dr. Peterson has published over 130 peer-reviewed scholarly works and is an Editor-in-Chief for The Biomedical Engineering Handbook, published by CRC Press.

Robert G. Radwin, Robotics Track Co-Chair
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Professor Robert G. Radwin is the Duane H. and Dorothy M. Bluemke Professor in industrial and systems engineering and biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He specializes in the physiological and biomechanical aspects of work with a view to improving the design of jobs, equipment, products and environments. Professor Radwin frequently works with a range of industry and government organizations. He has received awards as an innovator and researcher, is a fellow of six professional societies, has served on numerous national committees, and is Editor-in- Chief of the journal Human Factors. Professor Radwin is founding chair of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Biomedical Engineering and is a Discovery Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery.

Dr. Christopher Reid is a Technical Fellow and Boeing Designated Expert in both the Human Factors & Ergonomics discipline and wearable technology. Based out of Charleston, SC, he is the current Technology Architect for Boeing's Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) organization. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Practice at Clemson University’s Department of Industrial Engineering. Prior to Boeing, Dr. Reid worked for Lockheed Martin on astronaut spacesuit assessment as a Human Factors & Ergonomics Discipline Lead at NASA Johnson Space Center and as a Human Factors Engineer for the US Army Natick Labs, assessing Warfighter personal protective equipment. Outside of Boeing, he volunteers his time on a number of technical associations. He was the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society 2021-2022 President, is a member of ASTM International’s Board of Directors and Chair of the ASTM F48.02 Subcommittee on Human Factors & Ergonomics for Exoskeletons and Exosuits. He’s also an advisor on the National Safety Council’s Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) Solutions Lab Advisory Council and Delegates Committee. He is a recipient of both the 2018 Rising Star Award from the National Safety Council and the 2020 Black Engineer of the Year Award for Outstanding Technical Contribution in Industry. He is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, with degrees in Electrical Engineering Technology (BS) and Industrial Engineering (MS and PhD).

Dr. Menekse Salar Barim was born in Monterey, CA in 1988. She earned her doctorate degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering with an emphasis in Occupational Injury Prevention in fall of 2017 from Auburn University. She also earned a MISE with an emphasis in Occupational Safety and Ergonomics in 2013 from Auburn University. She has 2 undergraduate degrees, Industrial Engineering (BS) and Management (BA) from Atilim University in Turkey. As a student, she conducted cutting edge MRI research to better define and estimate biomechanically relevant low back structures to improve ergonomic modelling. She has won numerous academic awards and was the captain of the “Ergo Divas” team that won the international Ergonomic Design Competition for Student Teams besting over 50 teams from more than 35 universities. She is active in professional societies such as American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) where she has served as student chapter president. As a doctoral student, she organized and ran an international safety and health workshop that brought 4 Auburn OSE faculty to Turkey where they conducted multiple workshops and exchanged safety and health information with Turkish academics and safety professionals.

In 2018, she joined the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a research fellow. Since 2018, she has been with the Human Factors and Ergonomics Team (HFET). Her current research interest includes biomechanics, musculoskeletal disorders, motion analysis, ergonomics, human performance and exoskeletons. She recently works on projects related to ergonomics surveillance, the development of next generation ergonomic assessment tools, the effect of back assist exoskeletons in manual handling in WRT sector and longitudinal effects of shoulder exoskeletons on company injury records in the manufacturing sector. 

Dr. Craig Schlenoff is the Group Leader of the Cognition and Collaboration Systems Group, the Program Manager of the Measurement Science for Manufacturing Robotics Program, and the Program Manager of the Automated Vehicle Program in the Intelligent Systems Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He has led multiple million-dollar efforts addressing performance evaluation of automated vehicles, industrial robotic systems, and advanced military technologies. He has published over 150 journal and conference papers, guest edited three journals, guest edited three books, and written four book chapters. He is the co-chair of the NITRD Artificial Intelligence Interagency Working Group, the Associate Vice President for Standardization in the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, the co-chair of the IEEE Robot Task Representation Working Group, and was previously the chair of the IEEE Ontology for Robotics and Automation Working Group. He has also served as the Program Manager for the Process Engineering Program at NIST and the Director of Ontologies at VerticalNet. He also teaches two courses at the University of Maryland, College Park: “Calculus” and “Building a Manufacturing Robot Software System.” He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, his Master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (both in mechanical engineering), and his PhD from the University of Burgundy in computer science.