Matthias Jäger – New honorary member of the GfA 2025
The Gesellschaft für Arbeitswissenschaft e.V. (GfA) honours ‘personalities from Germany and abroad who have made outstanding contributions to ergonomics or to the Gesellschaft für Arbeitswissenschaft’ with an honorary membership; since its foundation in 1953, 20 personalities have been honoured in this way. At this year's spring conference in Aachen (25 - 27 March 2025), three more people were honoured for their many years of service to the GfA: Priv.-Doz Dr.-Ing. Matthias Jäger (IfADo), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karsten Kluth (University of Siegen) and Prof. Dr. phil. Oliver Sträter (University of Kassel).
The Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo) was the seat of the GfA office from 1985 to 2021 and subsequently carried out the management (GfA executive board members: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Laurig, Prof. Dr. Andreas Seeber, Prof. Dr. Martin Schütte, Priv.-Doz. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Jäger).
About Matthias Jäger: After studying electrical engineering at the Ruhr University Bochum, Matthias Jäger received his doctorate in mechanical engineering in Dortmund in 1986. In 2001, he habilitated with a teaching authorisation in the field of ergonomics at the Dortmund Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Since 1981, Mr Jäger has worked at the IfADo and, as head of the ‘Biomechanical Ergonomics’ research group, has been involved in occupational science topics such as the design of workplaces and workflows and, in particular, the strain on the musculoskeletal system at work until his retirement in 2021. In addition to his activities in national and international standardisation bodies, he has also been an editor of two scientific journals for many years and co-authored several guidelines in the fields of occupational science and occupational medicine, including for the WHO.
Milestones in biomechanical research: Matthias Jäger developed the simulation tool ‘The Dortmunder’ to quantify spinal loading, formulated 'The Dortmund Recommendations' for assessing the risk of back overload, initiated 'The Dortmund Lumbar Load Study-s, DOLLY' and played a major role in the ‘German Spine Studies’ to determine, evaluate and assess long-term physical back loading. The Mainz-Dortmund Dose Model is the standard procedure for calculating cumulative loads on the lumbar spine in occupational disease assessment procedures for disc-related diseases of the lumbar spine. Within the framework of these studies with cooperation partners from research and practice, the focus was, among other things, on the prevention-relevant question of how nursing staff put load on their backs in their daily work and how they can relieve this load through suitable measures. To this end, a bed equipped with numerous sensors, ‘The Dortmund measuring bed’, was developed, for example, which could be used to determine the previously unknown forces when moving the patient and subsequently the forces on a carer’s lumbar spine 3-d over time.
Furthermore, in 2020, six research partners joined forces with the IfADo in the MEGAPHYS project to develop a methodological inventory for a ‘multi-level hazard analysis of physical load’ for various occupational activities and to create a guide for those responsible for occupational safety. In addition, the back-related research conducted in Dortmund was incorporated into several basic standards of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). ‘The Dortmund Lumbar Load Atlas’ was published in 2023 (Springer Verlag) as a summary and extension of previous research and as a versatile reference work. The atlas is the first international register of the biomechanical load and load-bearing capacity of the lower back during manual load handling and is used to design workplaces and workflows ergonomically, both in the planning phase and in the retrospective evaluation of real work.
Further honours for Jäger: For his various research activities, Mr Jäger has already received several national and international awards. Among other things, he has received the Lederle Prize from the Association for the Promotion of Biomedical and Clinical Research in Dortmund and the Recognition Award from the American Automotive Engineer Society (SAE, Washington) for modelling and evaluating back strain, the Liberty Mutual Award (Boston) for lumbar load monitoring and the Julius Springer Prize for Occupational Medicine (Heidelberg) for his groundbreaking results on the biomechanical strain on nursing staff. In addition, Matthias Jäger was honoured in 2020 by the German Society for Occupational and Environmental Medicine (DGAUM) with the Joseph Rutenfranz Medal for special achievements in occupational physiology for his outstanding research achievements in the field of biomechanical ergonomics. In 2022, he and international colleagues received the NIOSH Bullard-Sherwood Research-to-Practice Award (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; USA) for the comprehensive update of an ISO standard, which now interprets the recommended load weight limits for lifting and carrying loads in terms of the risk of disease.
As emphasised in the recent laudatory speech, Matthias Jäger is characterised above all by his extraordinary passion for science and his tireless pursuit of practical solutions for the world of work. His work has not only developed and advanced theories, but has also brought about concrete improvements in the health and safety of workers worldwide. This makes it a shining example of excellent research with social relevance – entirely in keeping with the spirit of ‘theoria cum praxi’, the motto of the name giver of our institute within the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Association.
Scientific contact:
Priv.-Doz. Matthias Jäger (retired) (formerly Department of Ergonomics)