Bisantz named Human Factors and Ergonomics Society WOMAN Mentor of the Year

By Nicole Capozziello

The annual award recognizes the outstanding contributions of a mid-to-late career individual with an extended history of mentoring, sponsoring and/or otherwise advancing women professionals and students in the field of human factors. 

“I am extremely pleased that Dean Bisantz has been awarded this much deserved national honor for her important research, education and leadership contributions to the field, and for the many women and men who have gone on to very successful careers as human factors professionals due to her exceptional mentorship,” says Victor Paquet, professor and chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

“Mentoring students has been a significant and meaningful part of my career,” says Bisantz, a professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the University at Buffalo dean of undergraduate education. Bisantz has supervised 38 PhD and/or MS students, 18 of whom are women. “In working with students, my main priority is helping them to achieve their own life, academic and career goals.”

Bisantz, a University at Buffalo alumna (BS ’89, MS ’91 industrial engineering) returned to UB as a faculty member in 1997, after earning her PhD at Georgia Tech. Her research focuses on supporting human performance in complex systems, including information visualizations and decision-aids. She has worked extensively in the fields of military command-and-control and health care, most recently in the area of supporting the work of nurses and physicians in emergency medicine. 

Among her many previous accomplishments are an NSF CAREER award and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities in 2015.

Bisantz was the chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering from 2012 to 2018, when she assumed the role as dean of undergraduate education. As dean, Bisantz oversees academic policies and curricula, as well as stewards the strategic vision for UB’s 21st century general education program, the UB Curriculum, the Office of Experiential Learning and Research, the Center for Excellence in Writing and the University Honors College. 

She has been a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) since 1990. Her participation over the years has included chairing technical groups, serving as a member-at-large of the Executive Council, and working as associate editor of the Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making. She was elected Fellow of the Society in 2013, and received the Paul M. Fitts Education Award in 2017. 

The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society is made up of 3,500 members hailing from 58 countries, dedicated to “a future of systems that work for humans by design, grounded in science.” The award was announced at the HFE WOMAN meeting, held virtually on October 1, 2020.