Bisantz receives Paul M. Fitts Education Award from HFES

by Jane Stoyle Welch

Published November 17, 2017 This content is archived.

Ann M. (Amy) Bisantz, professor and chair of industrial and systems engineering, received the Paul M. Fitts Education Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).

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"Amy's delight in the many, many achievements of her own students is palpable, and brings joy to us all. Her influence on the educational paths of many will be felt for years to come.”
Liesl Folks, dean
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Portrait of Ann Bisantz.

According to HFES, the award recognizes her “exceptional contributions to the education and training of human factors specialists.”

The principal criteria of the Paul M. Fitts Education Award, established in 1968, are the influence that the candidate has had on students and/or how extensively the candidate's work has been used by educators in general. Candidates should either be currently or previously engaged in college or university teaching of human factors and ergonomics material or should have written significant textbooks in the field.

Since joining the University at Buffalo in 1997, Bisantz has advised 18 PhD and over 20 MS students, and has served on the PhD committees of an additional 17 students. Of these, many hold academic positions, where they are training future human factors and ergonomics professionals.

“Amy’s career at UB has been marked by her passion for the education mission of our university, and all similar organizations,” said Liesl Folks, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “She thinks deeply about how discipline depth couples with educational rigor, challenging those around her to find new ways to connect complex concepts across the curriculum and throughout programs.  Her delight in the many, many achievements of her own students is palpable, and brings joy to us all.  Her influence on the educational paths of many will be felt for years to come.”

Bisantz has extensive research experience in cognitive engineering, including research on human computer interfaces for complex health care systems related to enhanced patient safety. Her research includes developing novel information displays for complex systems, advancing methods in cognitive engineering, and modeling human decision-making; she has worked extensively in the domains of health care and defense.

She is the past recipient of a CAREER award from NSF, which supported research activities in the area of visualization of uncertainty and dynamic decision-making.

She has received funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a number of defense organizations, and has been involved with collaborative research with UB’s Center for Multi-source Information Fusion.

Bisantz, a UB alumna who received bachelor's (’89) and master's (’91) degrees in industrial engineering, was recognized with UB’s Chancellor’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities in 2015 and a Young Investigator Award from UB in 2002. She was appointed chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in 2012.

She is a Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

The award was presented at the HFES 61st Annual Meeting on October 10, 2017. The event was held in Austin, Texas.

About the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) is the world’s largest scientific association for human factors/ergonomics professionals, with more than 4,500 members globally. HFES members include psychologists and other scientists, designers, and engineers, all of whom have a common interest in designing systems and equipment to be safe and effective for the people who operate and maintain them.