Northwest Energy Innovation Summit 2009

On Monday I attended the first day of the NEIS 2009 – an event put on by Boise real estate developer Mark Rivers. As noted in the event’s marketing materials, it is “a landmark regional event for alternative energy policy makers, entrepreneurs, investors and educators.” A variety of pertinent topics were covered by more than a dozen presenters, including a Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) – Dr. Harold Blackman, Director of Laboratory Integration at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

My interest in attending was two-fold: (1) to garner a better understanding of this important emerging area and (2) to identify opportunities where individuals from the human factors and ergonomics discipline might provide professional knowledge that will assist with the successful development of this venture. I believe this to be a prime example of an area that will require a multidisciplinary approach to see that it successfully meets the needs of tomorrow. Thus, there is a need for human factors and ergonomics professionals to join the discussion to help guide the development of next-generation alternative energy technologies to ensure they will be appropriately designed to meet the needs of future generations.

 Print This Post