Dr. Michele Oliver is a professor and professional engineer in the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph. Michele has a multidisciplinary background with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Kinesiology, and Master’s and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering. Michele’s research area is in Occupational Biomechanics and Ergonomics and she is the former holder of a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) University Faculty Award as well as an Ontario Early Researcher Award.
She was previously awarded an NSERC Accelerator Supplement. While her research program has one goal, which is the reduction of work related musculoskeletal injuries, her approach is multi- and inter-disciplinary.
Some of her current work involves the development of a 6 depth of field (DOF) heavy machine simulator to be used in understanding the etiology of whole-body vibration injuries as well as in the design and development of heavy equipment armrests. Another portion of her work involves the development of virtual tools for joystick and hand tool assessment to determine injury potential before design implementation. In addition to NSERC, her research has been funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), OIT and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).