WVU alumnus Caporali-Filho is newest addition to WVU Extension Safety and Health

Statler College alumnus Sergio Caporali-Filho.

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources alumnus Sergio Caporali-Filho joins the West Virginia University Extension Safety and Health team as an Extension Specialist and associate professor. However, this isn’t his first time being a part of this team.

Story by Sydney Keener, Communications Specialist, WVU Extension
Photos supplied

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

While studying for his master’s degree, Caporali-Filho was a graduate assistant at WVU Extension Safety and Health. Upon graduation, he was hired as a visiting Extension assistant professor, where he worked for one year.

In October, Caporali-Filho was hired at WVU Extension Safety and Health again, coming full circle from the very beginning of his career.

“I am excited to conduct applied research that is consistent with the mission of Extension and hopefully increase the service portfolio in industrial hygiene,” said Caporali-Filho. “The environment at Extension continues to be as pleasant as it was 20 years ago.”

Industrial hygiene is a multidisciplinary science that includes four primary duties: recognition, evaluation, anticipation and control of occupational hazards. The goal is to create a safer and healthier workplace by focusing on hazard prevention.

In this role, Caporali-Filho will provide service to the state and region in safety, ergonomics and industrial hygiene. He also will conduct research and teach various occupational safety and health training courses.

“I’ve been teaching for more than 25 years, and I find it very pleasant. My favorite part about teaching is when one of my students moves on to perform beyond what I can do in the field. That means that I have done my job well,” said Caporali-Filho.

Caporali-Filho grew up in Brazil and later attended college in Peru to study industrial engineering at the University of Lima. He then moved to Puerto Rico to get his master’s degree in manufacturing engineering management from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez.

Once he graduated, he headed north to Morgantown to complete his second master’s degree, this time in occupational hygiene and occupational safety, as well as a doctorate in industrial engineering, both from the Statler College.

After graduation, he moved back to Puerto Rico to teach and direct the industrial hygiene program there. After 19 years, he returned to WVU in 2022 as director of industrial hygiene, now at the WVU School of Public Health, until he began his current role at WVU Extension.

Caporali-Filho chose this field because there are new challenges and issues to address every day. He loves being able to use different areas of science to solve real-world problems in order to create safer environments for workers.

“Sergio is that rare find in higher education in that he fully understands the theoretical framework of his field but also is very highly skilled at translating that into practice, either through assisting industries and workers at their places of work or in the classroom as part of our OSHA Training Institute Education Center, training safety and health professionals and other workers in how to put these principles to work,” Mark Fullen, WVU Extension Safety and Health director, said. “I am so excited to have Sergio back on board as part of our Safety and Health Extension team.”

WVU Extension Safety and Health offers training and programs to help individuals lead safe, prosperous lives – including more than 40 OSHA courses covering everything from basic workplace safety to specialized safety trainings, as well as health care continuing education opportunities through the Shirley M. Kimble Training Center.

To learn more about what WVU Extension Safety and Health offers, visit  https://extension.wvu.edu/community-business-safety/safety-health.

If you want to learn more about WVU Extension, visit extension.wvu.edu or follow @WVUExtension on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. 

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