Clark Dickerson

Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, University of Waterloo

Clark Dickerson.
Dr. Clark Dickerson is a Professor and Canada Research Chair of Shoulder Mechanics in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on identifying, quantifying, and reducing work-related risk to shoulder health.

To quantify the impact of work on the shoulder, he develops and experimentally evaluates various biomechanical computer models that incorporate personal (i.e. fatigue, body composition, aging) and occupational (physical loads, postures, repetition) risk factors. His laboratory and field-based experiments typically feature direct measurement of exposures and demands, including general joint loads, perceptual responses to work, and muscular recruitment patterns. His work has tangibly supported ergonomics decision-making across automotive, health care, telecommunications, military, manufacturing, warehousing, and service industries.

His research produces new foundational knowledge that can help to improve the safety and usability of workspaces and other man-machine interfaces, thus reducing the frequency and severity of occupational shoulder injuries. His laboratory, The Digital Industrial Ergonomics and Shoulder Evaluation Laboratory (DIESEL) has published over 130 peer-reviewed scientific research papers related to aspects of shoulder health since 2005. He has been an Associate Director of Research for CRE-MSD since 2016.