Fadi Fathallah, Associate Professor

Ph.D., Industrial and Systems Engineering, Ohio State University, 1995
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
3020 Bainer Hall
Phone: 530-752-1612
Email: fathallah@ucdavis.edu

Current Research

Professor Fathallah's research interests focus on occupational biomechanics and ergonomics, with special emphasis on agricultural environments. He designed and currently directs the Occupational Biomechanics Laboratory to study musculoskeletal disorders of the lower back and upper extremities in agricultural and other occupational environments. He has investigated the feasibility of a small portable device in capturing extreme trunk posters of agricultural workers over prolonged periods of time to gain insight about the effect of time o day and day of week on extreme trunk postures and their relation to occupational low back disorders.

Representative Recent Publications

Fathallah, F. A., and A. E. Kato. 2001. Accuracy of a portable inclinometer for recording frequency of a trunk sagittal flexion. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 45th Annual Meeting, Santa Monica, California.

McGorry, R. W., S. M. Hsiang, F. A. Fathallah, and E. A. Clancy. 2001. Timing of activation of the erector spinae and hamstrings during a trunk flexion and extension task. Spine 26:418-425.

Marras, W. S., W. G. Allread, D. L. Burr, and F. A. Fathallah. 2000. Validation of low-back disorder risk model: A prospective study of ergonomic interventions associated with manual materials handling jobs. Ergonomics 43(11):1866-1886.

Fathallah, F. A., and J. P. Cotnam. 2000. Maximum forces sustained during various methods of exiting commercial tractors, trailers and trucks. Applied Ergonomics 31:25-33.

Fathallah, F. A., W. S. Marras, and M. Parnianpour. 1999. Regression models for predicting continuous three-dimensional spinal loads during symmetric lifting tasks. Human Factors 41:373-383.

Fathallah, F. A., and E. G. Brogmus. 1999. Hourly trends in workers' compensation claims. Ergonomics 42(1):196-207.

Membership in Professional Societies

American Society of Agricultural Engineers
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
Ergonomics Society (United Kingdom)
American Society of Biomechanics
Institute of Industrial Engineers

Courses Offered

EBS 128 - Occupational Biomechanics and Ergonomics
EBS 228 - Occupational Musculoskeletal Disorders

Research Support

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
Center for Occupational and Environmental Health
UC Davis Agricultural Health and Safety Center