How many times have you ever pulled on a door handle only to realize that it's a "push door"? How many VCRs have you seen blinking "12:00" because no one knows how to reset them? Or how many of your classes in Pearson 104 have given up using the projection system because it's just too confusing?
As an engineering psychology major, I can't help but see little design flaws wherever I go. I always feel like an idiot as I try to pull open the Engineering Project and Design Center door in Anderson, only to remember that I have to push it. It's not my fault, I always remind myself. It's the designer's mistake for misleading me by installing a handle!
But engineering psychologists tackle more than just simple design errors. Today, Nov. 8, is World Usability Day. The Usability Professionals Association (UPA) cites today as "a worldwide event sponsored by industry practitioners seeking to raise awareness of usability, user-centered design-related careers and individuals' rights to safe, effective and easy to use products."
Why not start here on campus?
The engineering psychology program at Tufts is training the next generation of design engineers. While many students think "engineering psychology" deals with Artificial Intelligence, measuring brain activity or supplying engineers with Vicodin, the program actually is about teaching students how to revolutionize various products, computer programs and biomedical devices.
Engineering psychology is the applied aspect of psychology. Commonly referred to as human factors engineering, the field focuses on the relationship between people and machines with the aim of improving interactions by making machines more user-friendly. It combines classes in mechanical engineering, psychology, biology, environmental science, engineering science and math.
The field was created after World War II when engineers realized that poor design in jet cockpits was leading to many flight accidents. Beyond revamping jet dashboards, human factors involve redesigning equipment, changing the way people use machines, and changing the location in which the work takes place.
As technology continues to advance, engineers are beginning to rely on human factors specialists to design better computer interfaces and to balance automation. As more companies transition to using computer call centers, engineering psychologists will be able to design more effective voice recognition technology.
As the baby boom generation approaches retirement, engineering psychologists will need to evaluate how an aging population interacts with products and interfaces. How much force can an eighty-year-old be expected to apply to open a medication bottle? How can we better design the AARP website to make it easier to navigate?
Since the founding of the engineering psychology program in 1974, Tufts students have been studying how to design the most ergonomic chairs, create better tools for neurosurgeons, and revamp cell phone designs.
The Tufts engineering psychology program was the first undergraduate program in ergonomics and human factors engineering in the country. Engineering psychology is offered as a major in either the School of Engineering or the School of Arts and Sciences.
The program originally focused mainly on consumer product design. In the 1970s, DuPont, a chemical company, approached Tufts faculty members to design a new product to use up reserves of some of their chemicals. Work at Tufts eventually led to the invention of the Reach toothbrush, which became the most ergonomic and best-selling toothbrush on the market.
More recently, the program has taken on a new focus. The program chair for the past few years has been Professor Caroline Cao, a mechanical engineering Ph.D. who has a strong background in biomedical engineering and human factors. Cao believes that biomedical is the future of engineering psychology, and lately the program has begun to reflect Cao's interests. It is not widely known that the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences estimates the number of lives lost in operating rooms due to preventable mistakes dwarfs the number of lives lost in car accidents. Cao's research and redesign of medical tools have already saved countless numbers of lives on the operating table.
Other departments at Tufts have recognized the importance of engineering psychology. The recently appointed mechanical engineering department head, Richard Wlezien, is a big supporter of the engineering psychology program. While most engineers sneer at "inferior" Apple computers, a desktop Mac sits in Wlezien's office, a testament to his understanding of a well-designed user interface.
Wlezien hopes to better incorporate human factors into the mechanical engineering department and is working to have the name of the program changed to the better recognized "human factors engineering." Hopefully, Wlezien's support and an increased enrollment in the major will mark an upswing in the engineering psychology program.
Popular Mechanics, a well-known science magazine, recently named the engineering psychology program as one of "Ten Radically Innovative College Programs" in the nation. "The field of engineering psychology is expanding from ergonomic improvements on existing devices to designs for better lifesaving technologies," the article said. It also quoted a Tufts alumnus who "now works for a small human-factors consulting company on medical devices, such as heart-rate monitors that can reduce human error through improved design."
The Tufts Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (THFES), the pre-professional society for engineering psychology majors, has high enthusiasm for its studies and goals. Students in the organization have been increasing alumni relations, organizing visits to human factors companies and generally working hard to increase visibility of the program on campus.
So, to celebrate World Usability Day, take a look around. If you find yourself surfing an easy-to-navigate webpage, sitting in an ergonomic chair, or comfortably using all 93,657 gadgets on an iPhone, thank a human factors engineer.
Emily Maretsky is a sophomore majoring in engineering psychology.
