Rate My Professor Jackie Cha

Cha specializes in human factors and ergonomics applied to healthcare environments, utilizing analytical modeling of behavior and physiological signals, along with medical devices, wearables, and robotics to assess and improve skills for training, team performance, and patient safety. Her key publications include "Evaluation of a passive arm-support exoskeleton for surgical team members: Results from live surgeries" (Journal of Safety Research, 2024, co-authored with Athanasiadis et al.), "Objective nontechnical skills measurement using sensor-based behavior metrics in surgical teams" (Human Factors, 2024), "The compatibility of exoskeletons in perioperative environments and workflows: an analysis of surgical team members’ perspectives and workflow simulation" (Ergonomics, 2023), "A year-long case study of multicomponent interventions to promote physical activity in office workers" (Applied Ergonomics, 2024), and "Measurement of Nontechnical Skills During Robotic-Assisted Surgery Using Sensor-Based Communication and Proximity Metrics" (JAMA Network Open, 2021). Cha has garnered major awards, including selection for the National Academy of Engineering's 2024 The Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, the Robert L. Wears Early Career Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Healthcare Technical Group (2024), Best Work Systems Track Paper Award from the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (2024), and HFES Product Design Technical Group Best Student Paper Award (2020). As principal investigator, she has obtained over $1.1 million in funding, notably an NSF CAREER grant ($574,834, 2024–2029) on human-robot surgical teams. She teaches courses including Human Factors Engineering, Human Factors in Device Design & Analysis, and Industrial Ergonomics & Automation, and has presented research at Clemson Health Advancement Talks and the University of Michigan.