William S. Marras, Ph.D.
Professor, Integrated Systems Engineering (OSU)
Professor, Physical Medicine & Rehab (OSU)
Professor, Orthopaedics (OSU)
278 Baker Systems Engineering
1971 Neil Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
Office: 614-292-6670
Email: marras.1@osu.edu
Web: William S. Marras

William S. Marras is the Honda Professor in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering at The Ohio State University.  He is the Institute Director & Scientific Director of the Spine Research Institute, the Director of the Center for Occupational Health in Automotive Manufacturing (COHAM), and the Executive Director of the Institute for Ergonomics.  Dr. Marras holds joint appointments in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Physical Medicine, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering.  His research is centered on understanding the role of biomechanics in spine disorder causation and its role in the prevention, evaluation, and treatment of spine disorders. His research includes epidemiologic studies, laboratory biomechanics studies, mathematical modeling, and clinical studies. His findings have been published in over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, and have been cited over 11,000 times.  He also has written numerous books and book chapters including his most recent book entitled “The Working Back: A Systems View.”  He has appeared on Good Morning America, CNN, and NPR and has a TEDx talk entitled “Back Pain and your Brain.”  Professor Marras’ work has attracted national as well as international recognition.  He is a two-time winner (1993 and 2002) of the prestigious Swedish Volvo Award for Low Back Pain Research, has won Austria’s Vienna Award for Physical Medicine, the Liberty Mutual Prize for Injury Prevention Research, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo for his work on the biomechanics of low back disorders.  He has been elected fellow in six professional societies including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, the Ergonomics Society (UK), and the International Ergonomics Association.  Professor Marras has served as Chair for numerous National Research Council committees and boards including The Committee on Human Factors, the Committee on Human Systems Integration, and the Board on Human Systems Integration.  Dr. Marras currently serves as Deputy Editor of Spine and was the previous Editor-in-Chief of the Human Factors.  In 2009 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (the National Academies).