Beschorner receives NIOSH grant to develop a statistical prediction tool for shoe traction

PITTSBURGH (September 20, 2018) … Kurt Beschorner, associate professor of bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh, received a $145,000 grant from NIOSH to further his research on characterizing the influence of shoe design on traction. This work aims to prevent slip and fall accidents, one of the biggest causes of workplace injury in the U.S.

In this project titled “A Predictive Statistical Model for Shoe-Floor-Fluid Coefficient of Friction”, Beschorner will work with Natasa Vidic (Co-I), an assistant professor of industrial engineering at Pitt. 

“This project will allow us to develop a statistical prediction tool for shoe traction that is based on metrics that are easy and inexpensive to measure,” said Beschorner. “It is expected that the results from this project will make shoe traction assessment accessible to small and mid-sized companies.”

Beschorner’s group is developing new standards to improve the way that researchers test friction of shoes and floor surfaces. He discusses the research in the following video posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

To learn more about this research, read the Swanson School of Engineering and PittWire news releases.