AEC 2026: We Came. We Learned. We Ergo'd.

Four days. Hundreds of ergonomists. One unforgettable conference. AEC 2026 proved once again that when the best minds in ergonomics get in the same room, the whole industry moves forward.

Thank you. To every attendee, speaker, presenter, exhibitor, and sponsor who made this year's conference extraordinary: we couldn't do this without you. Your energy, expertise, and passion for advancing ergonomics made AEC 2026 something special.

A special thank-you to our keynote speakers Mark Benden and Cassini Nazir for inspiring us to think bigger — and to all of our speakers and presenters who packed every session with insight and innovation.

Coming soon: Conference candids, awards photo albums, and podcast interviews recorded live at AEC 2026 will be available here shortly. Stay tuned.

Save the date — #AppliedErgo2027 will take place March 22–25, 2027 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta in Atlanta. Add to Calendar

Congratulations to this year's Ergo Cup® winners and AEC Award recipients — your work is proof that great ergonomics saves lives, reduces injury, and delivers real results.

Ergo Cup® 2026 Winners

Sponsored by The Ergonomics Center of North Carolina and Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at NC State University

Ergonomics Program Improvement Initiatives (Office & Industrial)
“A Leap Forward in Ergonomic Risk Assessment Using Vision AI” — Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA

New Product or New Job Design Solutions  
“Heavy-Lift Rotary Wing Aircraft Borescope Lighting Sled” — Lockheed Martin Corp., Stratford, CT

Task Focused Workplace Solutions — Manual Material Handing Tasks
“Trolley Tugger” — Cintas, Bedford, VA

Task Focused Workplace Solutions — Repetitive and/or Awkward Posture Tasks  
“Pin Retention Tester” — Lockheed Martin Corp., Archbald, PA

Task Focused Workplace Solutions — Miscellaneous or Multi-Task  
“Rolling Reliability: Semi-Automated Boilerclave Cart” — GE Vernova, Schenectady, NY

Task Focused Workplace Solutions — Maintenance or Other Non-Standard Tasks  
“Body Weld Offline Dollies” — Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi, Blue Springs, MS

Ergo Excellence Award 2026 Winners

Business Impact / ROI
“Container Tugger Modification” — PPG, Greensboro, NC

Ergonomic Risk Reduction
Gulfstream Aerospace “The Manipulator” — ATI, Huntsville, AL

Innovation
“Revolutionizing Workstation Design: A Material Stock Rack Solution for an Ergo Issue” — Ford Motor Company, Louisville, KY

Presentation Quality
“Design and Implementation of an Ergonomic Lever Tool for Vehicle Assembly” — Ford Motor Company, Louisville, KY

Transferability/Scalability
“Project Levitote – Raising Totes to New Heights with Regional Innovation” — Amazon, Seattle, WA

Simplicity
“Slurry Savvy” — Toyota Motor North America, Battery Manufacturing, Liberty, NC

Practitioner of the Year Award

Sponsored by OccuCare Injury Prevention
Ram Mikala, National Safety Council

Young Investigator Award

Sponsored by Texas A&M Cetner for Worker Health
Nicholas La Delfa, Ontario Tech University

Student of the Year Awards

Sponsored by CNA Insurance

  • Jarrod Smith, University of Windsor
  • Michael Watterworth, Ontario Tech University
  • Eshwara Prasad Sridhar, University of Texas at Arlington
  • Chidubem Nuela Enebechi, Purdue University