From October 9-13 more than 1,300 people from around the world gathered in Austin, Texas, to attend the 2017 Annual Meeting for the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES). The presentations, posters, and discussion panels covered topics in the fields of healthcare, product design, perception and performance, virtual environments, and many more.

Mary Yovanoff, new to Design Science this fall, presented research on how to take verbal feedback given to surgical residents during a skills training session and use it to develop a computerized learning system that can present personalized feedback. Steve Wilcox attended meetings of the Publications Committee and the Editorial Board of Ergonomics in Design, for which he is the Editor in Chief. He also attended a retirement party of Lynn Strother, who was the Executive Director of HFES.

The conference was a great opportunity for Design Science to reconnect and build new connections with other researchers and human factors enthusiasts. Having innovative conversations about how to put people first is invaluable when developing new ways to excel in product and technology design.

Disclaimer: Mary's presentation was funded by the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01HL127316. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.