On Oct. 22, Ƶ Career Services hosted a workshop led by Bob Chamberlain ’74 focused on the concept of human factors engineering — the design of user interfaces based on the study of how humans interact with technology and perceive information. Students interested in physics, engineering, and computer science attended the workshop in Benton Hall.
“The importance of human factors engineering is really about making human users more efficient and effective in doing their jobs,” Chamberlain said.
Chamberlain was an economics major, but he says he was always interested in learning about many different fields. After graduation and active duty in the U.S. Navy, he worked at Lockheed Martin before pursuing human factors engineering at Monterey Technologies, Inc., where he later became president. He retired after selling the company last summer.
At Monterey Technologies, Chamberlain’s team conducted task and stakeholder analyses for clients to determine issues and offer design solutions. “As technology gets more complex, it becomes increasingly important to understand users before designing the product, and to then design the product to meet the specific needs of the users and match the user interface to how, cognitively, the users perceive information,” Chamberlain said.
Chamberlain introduced Ƶ students to the process, and to make his point, he walked them through an exercise based on the hypothetical scenario: What if Ƶ built a new dining hall? He challenged students to think about all of the stakeholders involved in order to make the best design choices: the diners, food-service workers, emergency responders, maintenance workers, and more. Then they considered infrastructure, equipment, sustainability, and accessibility.
“[The exercise] gave us an opportunity to do exactly what he does in a group environment,” said Spencer Herzog ’28. “I really enjoyed it because it made me think in a way I hadn’t before.”
Good design, according to Chamberlain, serves society by bridging the gaps between users doing the same tasks.
“One thing that really surprised me is how many stakeholders there are when you’re making a business decision,” commented Cathy Chen ’26, a computer science major.
For Professor of Physics Ramesh Adhikari, who joined Chamberlain and students for dinner after the event, the exercise was more than academic. “Such activity adds a dimension to the education our students receive at Ƶ by helping them think about the opportunities available out there and prepare for them accordingly,” he said.