Past Liberty Mutual Medal Winners

Past winners of the International Ergonomics Association/Liberty Mutual Medal come from around the world.  Listed below are our more recent award recipients:

2016 - Pieter Coenen, Ph.D.; Idsart Kingma, Ph.D.; Jaap van Dieën, Ph.D.; Cecile R.L. Boot, Ph.D.; and Paulien M. Bongers, Ph.D. (The Netherlands)
​A team of researchers won the 2016 International Ergonomics Association (IEA) Liberty Mutual Medal for their scientific paper entitled, “Detailed assessment of low-back loads may not be worth the effort: A comparison of two methods for exposure-outcome assessment of low-back pain.”  The investigation, published in Applied Ergonomics (Vol. 51, pp.  322–330, 2015) compares and contrasts two methods for measuring physical exposure at the workplace. 

The winning researchers from the Netherlands include Pieter Coenen, Ph.D., Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU Medical Center; Idsart Kingma, Ph.D. and Jaap van Dieën, Ph.D., Department of Human Movement Science, Vrije Universteit Amsterdam; and Cecile R.L. Boot, Ph.D. and Paulien M. Bongers, Ph.D., Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU Medical Center.

The 2016 winners received the award at the Human Factors NL Congress, held in November 24-25 in Amersfoort, the Netherlands.
2015 - Bob Muffett, Theresa Clarke, Anthony Coplestone, Emma Lowe, John Robinson, Stuart Smith, and John R. Wilson (United Kingdom)
A team of researchers from the United Kingdom won the 2015 International Ergonomics Association (IEA) Liberty Mutual Medal. The winning paper, “Management of personal safety risk for lever operation in mechanical railway signal boxes” (Applied Ergonomics, Vol. 45, pp. 221-233, 2014) concerns health and safety problems involving human error and organizational failure at a systems and safety management level. The research seeks to understand physical injury risks in the UK rail network resulting from operating lever frame signal boxes. The researchers conducted the study to determine the nature and extent of the problem and to recommend a management strategy for mitigating future risks.

The award recipients include Bob Muffett, Theresa Clarke, Anthony Coplestone, Emma Lowe, John Robinson and Stuart Smith (Ergonomics Team, Network Rail, London, United Kingdom) and John R. Wilson (Human Factors Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham and Network Rail, United Kingdom).
 
The winners received the Medal at the 19th Triennial Congress of the IEA, held August 9-14, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia.
2014 - Priyadarshini R. Pennathur, Ph.D.; David Thompson, DNSc., MS, RN; James H. Abernathy III, MD, MPH; Elizabeth A. Martinez, MD; Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, FCCM; George R. Kim, MD, FAAP; Lisa H. Lubomski, Ph.D.; Jill A. Marsteller, Ph.D., MPP; and Ayse P. Gurses, Ph.D. (USA)
​A team of nine researchers won the 2014 International Ergonomics Association (IEA) Liberty Mutual Medal. The researchers received the honor for their scientific paper, “Technologies in the wild (TiW): Human factors implications for patient safety in the cardiovascular operating room” (Ergonomics, Vol. 56, No. 2, pp. 205-219, 2013). The winning paper describes technology-induced hazards, that is, technologies that could lead to a medical error, in a complex, fast-paced, and high-stakes work environment – the cardiovascular operating room. The paper also discusses the possible impact of these hazards on clinician cognition and performance based on observations at five large cardiac surgery centers in the USA.
 
The research team members include Priyadarshini R. Pennathur, PhD of the University of Iowa; David Thompson, DNSc., MS, RN of the Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine, Bloomberg Public Health and Nursing; James H. Abernathy III, MD, MPH, FASE of the Medical University of South Carolina; the late Elizabeth A. Martinez, MD, MHS of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; George R. Kim, MD, FAAP of the Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine and Nursing; Jill A. Marsteller, PhD, MPP of the Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine and the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Ayse P. Gurses, PhD, Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, FCCM , and Lisa H. Lubomski, PhD, all of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
 
The winners received the Medal at the annual meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, held from October 27–31, 2014 in Chicago, IL.
2013 - Sean Gallagher, Ph.D., CPE and John R. Heberger, M.A., M.S. (USA)
​Researchers Sean Gallagher, Ph.D., CPE and John R. Heberger, M.A., M.S. received the 2013 International Ergonomics Association (IEA)/ Liberty Mutual Medal in Occupational Safety and Ergonomics. The researchers were honored for their scientific paper “Examining the interaction of force and repetition on musculoskeletal disorder risk: A systematic literature review” (Human Factors, Vol. 55, No. 1, pp. 108-124, 2013). The winning paper describes a consistent pattern of interaction between the musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risk factors of force and repetition and provides a likely theoretical basis for this relationship.
 
Dr. Gallagher is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Auburn University, Auburn, AL, and Mr. Heberger is an epidemiologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Pittsburgh, PA.

The Medal was presented at the International Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society in San Diego, CA on October 1, 2013.
2012 - Paul Schepers, M.Sc., M.A. and Berry P.L.M. den Brinker, Ph.D. (The Netherlands)
​Researchers Paul Schepers, M.Sc., M.A. and Berry P.L.M. den Brinker, Ph.D. of the Netherlands won the 2012 International Ergonomics Association (IEA) Liberty Mutual Medal. The researchers received the honor for their scientific paper, “What do cyclists need to see to avoid single-bicycle crashes?” (Ergonomics, Vol. 54, No. 4, pp. 315-327, 2011). The winning paper discusses a scientific study that aims to improve cycling safety, by examining the role of visual characteristics of the cycling facilities, such as pavement markings and the visibility of bollards on bicycle paths.
 
Schepers is a road safety consultant with the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, Centre for Transport and Navigation (Delft) and den Brinker is a researcher and director of the Scientific Institute for Low Vision Use Research and Vrije Universiteit, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences (Amsterdam).
 
The Medal was presented at the 50th anniversary meeting of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Ergonomie, a federated society of the International Ergonomics Association. The meeting was held in Amersfoort, The Netherlands on October 25-26, 2012.
2011 - Marie Ward, Ph.D.; Nick McDonald, Ph.D.; Rabea Morrison, Dipl. Psych.; Des Gaynor, M.A.; and Tony Nugent (Ireland)
An Ireland-based research team that conducted a study on improving aircraft maintenance won the 2011 the IEA/Liberty Mutual Medal in Occupational Safety and Ergonomics. The winning paper, “A performance improvement case study in aircraft maintenance and its implications for hazard identification,” was published in the journal Ergonomics (Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 247–267, 2010).  The research paper presented a case study for identifying aircraft maintenance hazards and its implications for improving safety and preventing accidents.
 
The winning researchers include Marie Ward, Ph.D., Nick McDonald, Ph.D., and Rabea Morrison, Dipl. Psych, of the Aerospace Psychology Research Group (APRG), School of Psychology, Trinity College (Dublin) and Des Gaynor, M.A., and Tony Nugent of Trinity aeroTec (Dublin).
 
The researchers received the award at the 18th World Congress on Ergonomics held in Recife, Brazil, February 12-16, 2012.