Dr. M. Susan Hallbeck, P.E., C.P.E. is a Professor of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering. She also holds a courtesy appointment in Surgery at UNMC. She is the director of the Innovative Design and Ergonomic Analysis Lab and the coordinator of the award-winning FINDER group - collaboration among physicists, chemists, electrical, materials and industrial engineers for detection of neutrons for homeland security. She has been a guest researcher at the National Institute for Working Life in Sweden and a NASA summer research faculty at NASA-Ames Research Center. Dr. Hallbeck is a founding member of the Center for Advanced Surgical Technologies and the Center for Ergonomics and Safety Research. She is also a member of the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience. Her current multi-disciplinary research in the IDEA Lab includes: Development of laparoscopic surgical tools (with Dr. Dmitry Oleynikov, Director of MIS at UNMC); Methodology standardization for operating room medical device usability (with Dr. Ulrich Matern, Eberhard Karls University/ University Clinic Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany); Development of a neutron detector for homeland security; Investigation of single and double mouse clicks on computer user workload (with Drs. Stefan Thorn and Mikael Forsman; NIWL/ Chalmers University, Göteborg, Sweden) and Evaluation of a 7/8 piano keyboard (with Dr. Brenda Wristen, Music). The collaboration between Drs Oleynikov and Hallbeck produced the patented, award-winning IntuiToolª, an articulating laparoscopic tool licensed to Gyrus/ACMI.

• Ph.D., 1990 Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University; Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
  
• M.S., 1985 Texas Tech University; Industrial Engineering
  
• B.S., 1984 Iowa State University; Industrial Engineering

• Development of laparoscopic surgical tools
• Methodology standardization for operating room medical device usability
• Development of a neutron detector for homeland security
• Investigation of single and double mouse clicks on computer user workload
• Evaluation of a 7/8 piano keyboard

• Hallbeck, M.S. and Kadefors, R. (2002). Chapter 11.1: Hands and Hand Tools. In, Delleman, N.J., Haslegrave, C.M., and Chaffin, D.B. (Editors), Work Postures and Movements, London: Taylor and Francis.
  
• Thorn, S. Forsman, M., Zhang, Q., and Hallbeck, S. (2002). A comparison of muscular activity during single and double mouse clicks. Proceedings of the Nordic Ergonomics Society, 34th Annual Meeting (Nordiska Ergonomisällskapets 34:e årliga konferens).
  
• Thorn, S., Forsman, M. Zhang, Q. and Hallbeck, S. (2002). Motor unit firing pattern in the trapezius muscle during a long-term computer work task. XIVth Congress of the International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology, 34-36.
  
• Jung, M-C and Hallbeck, M.S. (2002) The Effect of Wrist Position, Angular Velocity, and Exertion Direction on Simultaneous Maximal Grip Force and Wrist Torque under IsokineticConditions. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 29(3), 133-143.

Redesign of an ergonomic hand-tool handle

Arbetslivsinstitutet (www.niwl.se) (Göteborg, Sweden) January to August 2001 and May to July 2002. Research Associate at the Swedish National Institute of Working Life (Arbetslivsinsitutet).

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

• Industrial Ergonomics Technical Group:
  • Technical Group Chair 2002-2004
    
  • Annual Program Chair 1993-1994
    
  • Newsletter Editor 1991-1992
• Consumer Products Technical Group:
  • Annual Program Chair 1999-2002

Heartland Occupational Safety and Health Center (University of Iowa)

• Board of Advisors, 1999-2004

• Innovative Design and Ergonomic Analysis Lab(IDEA Lab)
• FINDER
• National Institute for Working Life(NIWL)
• Center for Advanced Surgical Technologies
• Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience
• Eberhard Karls University/ University Clinic Tübingen