Bio: Justin Young is currently an Assistant Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Kettering University, Flint, MI.  He was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, after receiving his Ph.D. in IOE from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2011.  His research focuses on upper extremity biomechanics and specific ergonomics applications for safety, manufacturing, and human-machine interfaces.

Abstract: Strength models are important for ergonomic risk assessment of worker tasks. Current models are unreliable for highly extended wrist postures commonly observed in tasks such as pushing on flat surfaces. New characterization of wrist strength and biomechanical strategy in these deviated postures are needed to improve accuracy of ergonomic software assessment tools (such as UM 3DSSPP). This talk will discuss recent experiments that characterize both active (muscular) strength and passive (structural) stabilization of the wrist throughout its range of motion, as well as the force distribution on the hand when pushing on flat surfaces in extreme extended wrist postures. Implications for strength models and ergonomic analysis of functional tasks will be discussed.