Ergonomics research - a 40-year odyssey: biography of Stover H. Snook

This paper describes the contributions Stover H. Snook has made to the fiel ds of ergonomics and occupational health and safety over the past 40 years. The paper is based on a literature review of his publications. It presents the evolution of his psychophysical research in the areas of manual materi als handling, repetitive motion tasks, and stair design. The results of the se studies have been applied to guidelines in several areas of industrial e rgonomics and occupational safety. Dr Snook's contributions to the areas of low back pain research, cost studies of compensable low back pain and cumu lative trauma disorders, and teaching are also presented.