HF/E on the college campus: An interview with Thomas Ferris

Abstract

Thomas Ferris is president of the HFES student chapter at the University of Michigan. The chapter is consisted of 38 members of undergraduate and graduate students. According to Ferris, because of the rising health care costs, students are realizing the increasing importance of human factors and ergonomics in various settings. Among the common human factors interest among the students is modeling. Ferris added that the university held several events over the past few years designed specifically to provide students with a basic idea of what types of HF/E research goes on at university. According to Ferris, the most popular event for the chapter was the Bad Designs on Campus (BDOC) contest that the chapter ran in honor of National Ergonomics Month. With the strength in both physical and cognitive ergonomics of the UM, most the students are rooted in engineering, kinesiology, and psychology and others in usability.