Volulnteer of the Month - Ram Maikala
Posted March 08, 2021
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He teaches and trains on safe patient handling and mobility for various caregivers. Ram also provides ergonomics and safety risk assessments of the workplace, tracks employee-related injuries for three different counties, and develops interventions to mitigate injuries. Ram's proudest accomplishment in the HF/E industry is his work physiology research using a variety of non-invasive physiological modalities, including Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS); this effort, in turn, lead to the very first special issue on applications of NIRS in Ergonomics-related research: Maikala, R.V. and Hargens, A. (2010). Application of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Ergonomics and Exercise. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, Volume 40, Issue 2, March, pp. 123-230.
Ram's motivation to volunteer with HFES is to give back to his profession and his extended HFES family. As a Student member and now as a Full Member, he continuously benefited from HFES and its services. For example, thanks to HFES Members Directory, as a student, Ram interned at Dupont (1994) and General Motors (1995). Thanks to the HFES Member Directory, Ram got his first job interview (and subsequently employment) with Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety (2001).