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Waldemar Karwowski, Pegasus Professor and Chair, Department of Industrial Engineering & Management Systems, received the prestigious William Floyd Award from U.K.-based Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors on April 26, 2017. This field of engineering involves human-centered design of systems, processes and equipment developed to fit people’s natural capabilities and limitations.

Karwowski is globally recognized for his significant contributions to industrial engineering, human factors engineering, safety of advanced manufacturing, industrial ergonomics, and fuzzy systems theory and applications. His research has focused on human-systems integration in complex technological systems.

His contributions with the highest societal impact are the introduction, development and use of neuro-fuzzy models (simulations of human-like reasoning style) which provide a more accurate representation of complex human-system behaviors than was previously possible. His pioneering work in introducing and using nonlinear dynamics measures and models of muscular performance resulted in better understanding of human performance in physical work.

The results of his work have influenced workplace design for health and safety, with the potential impact on millions of workers around the world.