• Associate Professor, Industrial & Systems Engineering
  • Mike and Sugar Barnes Career Development Fellowship II, Industrial & Systems Engineering
  • Director, NeuroErgonomics Lab
  • Graduate Faculty, Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience
  • Graduate Faculty, Center for Remote Health Technologies & Systems
  • Affiliated Faculty, Environmental & Occupational Health
  • Affiliated Faculty, Mechanical Engineering
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Ranjana Mehta

Educational Background

  • Ph.D. & M.S., Industrial & Systems Engineering (Human Factors), Virginia Tech University

Research Interests

  • Research in the NeuroErgonomics Lab utilizes theories, methods and techniques from physiology, biomechanics, neuroscience, psychology and public health to better understand operator behavior and capabilities when interacting with simple and complex work systems. Human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) investigations involve examining multifactorial causes and consequences of operator stress and fatigue, brain-behavior relationships with changing workforce demographics (aging, obesity), and development of HF/E tools to assess operator health and performance in hazardous work environments.

Awards & Honors

  • Award for Technical Innovation in Industrial Engineering, Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineering, 2022
  • Creativeness in Ergonomics Practitioner of the Year Award, Applied Ergonomics Society (IISE), 2019
  • Presidential Impact Fellow, Texas A&M University, 2021
  • William C. Howell Young Investigator Award, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2017
  • James G. Zimmer New Investigator Research Award, American Public Health Association, 2014

Selected Publications

  • Nuamah, J., Mantooth, W., Karthikeyan, R., Mehta, RK., Ryu, SC. (Accepted in 2019). Neural Efficiency of Human-Robotic Feedback Modalities under Stress differs with Gender. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
  • Zhu, Y., Rodriguez-Paras, C., Rhee, J., Mehta, RK. (Accepted in 2019). Methodological Approaches and Recommendations for Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy Applications in HF/E Research. Human Factors.
  • Hosseinian, R., Zhu, Y., Mehta, RK., Erraguntla, M., Lawley, M. (Accepted in 2019). Static and Dynamic Work Activity Classification from a Single Accelerometer: Implications for Ergonomic Assessment of Manual Handling Tasks, IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors.
  • Garrett, G., Zhao, H., Pickens, A., Mehta, RK., Preston, L., Powell, A., & Benden, M. (2019). Computer-based Prompt's impact on postural variability and sit-stand desk usage behavior; a cluster randomized control trial. Applied Ergonomics, 79, 17-24.
  • Rhee, J., & Mehta, RK. (2018). Functional connectivity during handgrip motor fatigue in older adults is obesity and sex-specific. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 455.
  • Mantooth, W., Mehta, RK., Rhee, J., & Cavuoto, L. A. (2018). Task and sex differences in muscle oxygenation during handgrip fatigue development. Ergonomics, 1-11.
  • Mehta, RK. (2016) Integrating Physical and Cognitive Ergonomics, IIE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors, 4:2-3, 83-87, DOI: 10.1080/21577323.2016.1207475
  • Osofundiya. O., Benden, ME., Dowdy, D., & Mehta, RK. (2016). Obesity-specific neural cost of maintaining gait performance under complex conditions in community-dwelling older adults. Clinical Biomechanics, 35, 42-48
  • Pajoutan, M., Mehta, RK., & Cavuoto, LA. (2016). The effect of obesity on central activation failure during ankle fatigue: a pilot investigation. Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior, 1-12
  • Mehta, RK., Shortz, AE., Benden, ME. (2016). Standing Up for Learning: A Pilot Investigation on the Neurocognitive Benefits of Stand-Biased School Desks. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 13, no. 1: 59
  • Shortz, AE., Pickens, A., Zheng, Q., & Mehta, RK. (2015). The effect of cognitive fatigue on prefrontal cortex correlates of neuromuscular fatigue in older women. Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation, 12(1), 1
  • Mehta, RK. (2016). Stunted PFC activity during neuromuscular control under stress with obesity. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 116(2), 319-326
  • Mehta, RK. (2015). Impacts of obesity and stress on neuromuscular fatigue development and associated heart rate variability. International Journal of Obesity, 39(2), 208-213
  • Mehta, RK. & Cavuoto, LA. (2015). The effects of obesity, age, and relative force levels on handgrip endurance. Applied Ergonomics, 46(A), 91-95
  • Mehta, RK. & Parasuraman, R. (2014). The effect of mental fatigue on the development of physical fatigue: A neuroergonomic approach. Human Factors, 56(4), 645-656
  • Mehta, RK. & Parasuraman, R. (2013). Neuroergonomics: A Review of Applications to Physical and Cognitive Work. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 7:889. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00889
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