Maury A. Nussbaum appointed to John Grado Professorship
Maury A. Nussbaum, professor of industrial and systems engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been appointed to the John Grado Professorship.
The John Grado Professorship in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering was established with a generous gift from John Grado, an alumnus of the department. This professorship enables the department to attract and retain excellent faculty, contributing to the scholarly and research productivity of faculty in the department and amplifying their external reputation.
Nussbaum’s work has made outstanding contributions to the field of industrial and systems engineering through the excellence of his scholarship, teaching, and service to the community.
He has published over 250 journal papers during his career, with most of these papers in leading outlets in the fields of ergonomics, biomechanics, and occupational medicine. He also has been involved in over 250 papers or presentations at professional conferences.
He received the Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Research Excellence in Science and Engineering in 2022. His work has been cited over 13,000 times, and he is recognized as one of the leading researchers on the ergonomic aspects of occupational exoskeletons.
Nussbaum has been responsible for $26.3 million in total research funding, with $9.4 million as his personal share, across 78 externally funded grants. His research on exoskeletons has been funded by grants from government agencies and private industry.
His research has addressed a range of fundamental and more applied topics related to worker performance, health, and safety. Since 2020, he and his research team have led or collaborated on several new projects examining the applications emerging technologies of occupational exoskeletons and wearable sensors.
Nussbaum has taught numerous courses in industrial and systems engineering, mainly in the areas of physical ergonomics, human factors experimental design and analysis, and proposal preparation. He has advised 37 Ph.D. students, several of whom were co-advised. He also has advised 21 master’s degree students and 21 undergraduate research projects, and he has hosted and advised several visiting Ph.D. students and scholars. In 2021, he received the Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Graduate Academic Advising.
Nussbaum’s most substantial external service has been as editor-in-chief of IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors. In addition, he has served on the editorial boards of five journals. He was invited to serve on the Advisory Council of the MSD Solutions Lab at the National Safety Council shortly after it was established in 2021, and he was invited to join the Ergonomics Community of Practice at the Center for Construction Research and Training in 2022.
In recognition of his scholarship as well as service and leadership to his profession, he has been named fellow of the Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, and the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers.
Nussbaum received bachelor’s degrees in biomedical sciences and mechanical engineering, a master’s degree in bioengineering, and a Ph.D. in industrial and operations engineering, all from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
