Ranjana Mehta serves as Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Affiliate Faculty in the BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, directing the NeuroErgonomics Laboratory while co-directing the Texas A&M Ergonomics Center and holding faculty fellowships at the Center for Population Health and Aging and Center for Remote Health Technologies and Systems. Her academic background includes: PhD in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech MS in Industrial Engineering from University at Buffalo BE in Production Engineering from University of Mumbai, India Mehta pioneers neuroergonomic approaches to study human performance under fatigue and stress in safety-critical environments, developing closed-loop human augmentation technologies for emergency response, space exploration, and oil/gas operations. Her work integrates adaptive AR/VR interfaces, wearable systems, human-robotic interactions, and brain-computer interfaces to enhance human-technology partnerships through user-centered design. Analysis of her recent publications reveals strong emphasis on fatigue detection in offshore workers, trust dynamics in human-robot collaboration, and sex-specific neural adaptations to exoskeletons. Her research spans human factors engineering, neuroscience, and industrial engineering, employing multimodal physiological metrics to address real-world safety challenges across high-risk industries. Her scientific recognition includes: 2024 Virginia Tech, ISE Distinguished Alumni 2023 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Fellow 2022 IISE Award for Technical Innovation in Industrial Engineering 2022 NASA ideas* Fellow 2022 NASEM Gulf Research Early Career Research Fellow 2022 The Human Factors Prize 2021 Virginia Tech, ISE Emerging Leaders Award 2021 Texas A&M Presidential Impact Fellow 2020 TEES Engineering Genesis Award 2020 Virginia Tech Engineering Outstanding Recent Alumni Award 2019 HFE Woman of the Year 2017 William C. Howell Young Investigator Award Her research receives funding from multiple federal agencies and industry partners supporting neuroergonomic solutions for worker safety. She mentors graduate students through ISyE 699/790/890/990 research courses and PSYCH 859 special topics, focusing on human factors engineering applications in emergency response and healthcare systems. Mehta leads interdisciplinary teams across the NeuroErgonomics Laboratory and Texas A&M Ergonomics Center, integrating engineering, neuroscience, and emergency medicine expertise to develop real-time fatigue monitoring systems and adaptive interfaces for high-stakes occupational environments.









