ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY AND ERGONOMICS

Over the last number of years, Environmental Physiology and Ergonomics has developed into one of our most propulsive research fields. Our research program is focused on both the chronic and acute effects of changes in a range of environmental factors (e.g. pressure, oxygen, temperature, gravity) on humans and their physiological systems.

The physiological findings from human experiments are subsequently applied to the development and production of manikins that can be used for testing the effectiveness and quality of specialised equipment (clothing, accessories) under ordinary and extraordinary conditions. Lately, our research has mainly focused on the development of the Planica facility as a ground based research centre to simulate future planetary habitation. This has led to research that focusses on investigating the effects of simulated reduced gravity on whole body systems in combination with the effects of hypoxia on different physiological systems as well as human performance. The intriguing part of our research programme is that the projects are based on broad domestic and international collaboration with partners from both academia and specialised companies.