Former international ergonomics consultant to deliver Gochenour Lecture at WVU

Sheree Gibson will deliver the Gochenour Lecture (Submitted Photo). 

Sheree Gibson, a 1979 graduate of West Virginia University, will deliver the annual Gochenour Lecture in the Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering on Thursday, October 28, at 2 p.m. in room 113 of the Mineral Resources Building on the Evansdale Campus.

Story by Adrianne Uphold, Graduate Assistant

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Gibson has more than 30 years of experience as an international ergonomics consultant at her industrial consulting firm, Ergonomics Applications. She was recently featured in a film documentary funded by the National Science Foundation, “Trailblazers: The Untold Stories of Six Women Engineers.” 

Gibson plans to touch on exciting work done by young engineers worldwide in her lecture entitled “Changing the Future for the Better,” to solve problems as diverse as turning waste plastic into a valued resource for building, providing clean drinking water in remote areas and developing ways to make agricultural waste into an added income stream for farmers. 

“Engineers have the skill set to solve the world’s problems – but we need the will and the knowledge to receive support from others to assist our efforts,” Gibson said. 

She has co-authored several articles and book chapters, including an award-winning American Industrial Hygiene Association/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (AIHA/NIOSH) Ergonomics Toolkit.

Since she retired, Gibson has been working to protect and conserve endangered sea turtles in Akumal, a small town on the Riviera Maya in Mexico. Gibson used her engineering expertise to develop a system that helps protect the sea turtles’ nests.

“When mama sea turtles come ashore during nesting seasons, I guide them when necessary to a safe spot on the beach, watch over them until they begin to lay their eggs, then record their identification tag number, measure them and mark the nest,” Gibson said. “If necessary, I relocate nests which are in danger of flooding or being infiltrated by plant roots. This year we have been protecting the nests and the hatchlings by using a system I developed and tested.  As a result, more nests and turtle hatchlings survive.”

Gibson is also a registered professional engineer and a certified professional ergonomist.

“There could be no one better than Sheree Gibson to deliver the lecture this year,” Ashish Nimbarte, interim chairperson and professor of the Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering. “Sheree is a true role model for aspiring women engineers. Sheree’s work in the areas of ergonomics and human factors is considered insightful and creative with a unique blend of theory, practice and research.”

The Donald L. Gochenour Lecture Series is free and open to the public and was established to honor the late Dr. Gochenour, a distinguished professor of industrial engineering at WVU. 

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