Presenter
Scott Openshaw
Biography
Scott Openshaw, Senior Human Factors Manager, Intuitive;
Scott, as Senior Human Factors Manager, oversees the team responsible for ensuring Intuitive’s system products are user-friendly, comfortable, safe, and effective for medical professionals and patients alike. The seed of what would become his interest in ergonomics was planted during his teenage years. While living in Lima, Peru, he and his family opened their home to Violeta, a teenager from Peru’s highlands who lost her right leg due to cancer. Seeing the difficulties Violeta faced navigating life with one leg gave Scott a passion for helping people with disabilities. In college, that passion manifested itself in dual interests of medicine and engineering. Ultimately Scott pursued engineering, earning his master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Iowa. Before joining Intuitive, Scott applied his knowledge about ergonomics in the furniture industry, and he worked with design firms Continuum and Radius testing medical products for human factors, usability, and safety. Scott is a member of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) and co-chair of the ANSI/HFES 100 committee. He’s also a member and former president of the Office Ergonomics Research Committee (OERC), and a member of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation.
Scott, as Senior Human Factors Manager, oversees the team responsible for ensuring Intuitive’s system products are user-friendly, comfortable, safe, and effective for medical professionals and patients alike. The seed of what would become his interest in ergonomics was planted during his teenage years. While living in Lima, Peru, he and his family opened their home to Violeta, a teenager from Peru’s highlands who lost her right leg due to cancer. Seeing the difficulties Violeta faced navigating life with one leg gave Scott a passion for helping people with disabilities. In college, that passion manifested itself in dual interests of medicine and engineering. Ultimately Scott pursued engineering, earning his master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Iowa. Before joining Intuitive, Scott applied his knowledge about ergonomics in the furniture industry, and he worked with design firms Continuum and Radius testing medical products for human factors, usability, and safety. Scott is a member of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) and co-chair of the ANSI/HFES 100 committee. He’s also a member and former president of the Office Ergonomics Research Committee (OERC), and a member of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation.
Presentations
