Mark E. Benden received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Biomedical Engineering from Texas A&M University.  He also received his Master of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering with a specialization in Ergonomics and a minor in Safety Engineering from Texas A&M University and his PhD in Interdisciplinary Engineering at Texas A&M.

As a commissioned Officer in the United States Army Reserve, he served on active and reserve duty with the Corps of Engineers and as an enlisted, combat medic with the Texas Army National Guard. His civilian career includes experience as a Rehabilitation Engineer, an Ergonomic Consultant, a plant Ergonomic Engineer, a corporate Ergonomist for Johnson & Johnson Inc., Executive Vice President for Neutral Posture, Inc. in Bryan, Texas, and most recently named Associate Professor, Texas A&M Health Science Center, School of Public Health, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Dr. Benden is co-founder and owner of Positive Motion LLC, a faculty led startup company designed to develop several of his patent pending stand-biased desk solutions through the Stand2Learn product line.

Dr. Benden is the author of several articles and book chapters on Ergonomics and has been called upon to lecture at multiple professional groups throughout the United States, Canada, the Carribean and Central America. He also holds 19 US Patents for current ergonomic office products and has many patents pending.

Dr. Benden received certificate #706 from the Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics Inc. as a Certified Professional Ergonomist. He is an active member of the Institute for Industrial Engineers, the American Society of Safety Engineers, the American Public Health Association and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Mark claims his greatest achievement was convincing Teresa, his wife of 27 years, to marry him. This union resulted in their being blessed with 3 wonderful sons: Travis, his wife Kenzie and their son Colt; Justin and his wife Rachael; and Luke.

Education

PhD. Interdisciplinary Engineering Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

M.S. Industrial Engineering Specialization: Human Factors/Ergonomics Minor: Safety Engineering Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

B.S. in Bioengineering Specialization: Human Factors Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Certification

Certified Professional Ergonomist, October 1994, certificate #706 from the Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics, Inc.

Honors

2014 Delta Omega Honorary Public Health Society

NeoCon Gold Award 2013 The Guardian Chair

Top 10 Most Innovative Product Designer, Healthcare Design Magazine, May 2008

Platinum ADEX award in the 2004-05 Awards for Design Excellence for AbStool in the Design Journal

Member, Canvass Committee for BSR/HFES 100 the proposed draft to the ANSI/HFS 100 1988 American National Standard for Human Factors Engineering of Visual Display Terminal Workstations

ANSI/BIFMA Classroom Furniture Standards Development Committee

RPHA Outstanding EOH Professor 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

National Ergonomic Conference and Exposition (NECE)

  • NECE 2007 Attendees Choice Award for the N-tune Seating System
  • NECE 2006 Attendees Choice Award for the Pipette Arm
  • NECE 2005 Attendees Choice Award for the NeXtep
  • NECE 2004 Attendees Choice Award for the StandUp
  • NECE 2003 Attendees Choice Award for the AbStool

Common Speaking Topics

Consulting Services Offered

Worksite Evaluation, Return to work assessment, Ergonomic Training, Product Design and Testing, Prototype construction, ADA accommodations, Expert Witness, Patent Development

Selected Publications

"An Evaluation of the Use of a Dual Frequency Vibrometer in the Screening of Individuals for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome,"
Texas A&M University Office of Graduate Studies, (Thesis) May 1992
Benden, M.

"Creating the Painless Inspection Station,"
Ergonomics in Design, July 1994
Benden, M.

"Benefits of Three Dimensional Knitted Fabric on Chair Manufacturing".
Applied Ergonomics Conference, Orlando, FL. March 2000
Benden, Mark and Parker, M. K.

"Use of Three-Dimensional Fabric Yields Ergonomic Benefits in Upholstery Work"
Applied Ergonomics, Edited by Alexander & Rabourn, Taylor & Francis 2001 Chapter 35

"The Patent Process for Ergonomic Products"
Conf. Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Applied Ergonomics Conference, Dallas, Texas Mar. 2003
Benden, M.

Current and Future Office Ergonomic Trends.
47th Annual Human Factors and Ergonomics Conference, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Poster Session. (October 2003)
Congleton, J., Craig, B., Benden, M., and Parker, M.

"Use of Three Dimensional, Knitted Fabric Yields Ergonomic Benefits in Upholstery Work - A Two Year Follow Up Study"
Conf. Proceedings of the First Annual Association of Canadian Ergonomist's Conference, Toronto, Canada, Oct. 2003
Benden, M.

"The Obese Office Worker Seating Problem"
Texas A&M University Office of Graduate Studies (Dissertation) Dec 2006
Benden, M.

"Chair Specifications and Testing for Big & Tall Seating",br /> March 13, 2007 Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Applied Ergonomics Conference.
Benden, M., Congleton, J.

"Selecting Seating for 911 Communication Centers"
Emergency Number Professional Magazine March 2007, Volume 25 Number 2.
Benden, M.

"Could You Stand to Lose? Weight Loss Secrets for Office Workers"
2nd Edition, Trinity River Publishing, July 2007. ISBN 978-60402-234-6
Benden, M.

"Measuring Office Ergonomics Training can Show Impact"
Industrial Engineer, Sept 2009, Vol 41:No 9
Benden, M.

"Could You Stand to Lose? Weight Loss Secrets for Office Workers"
2nd Edition Trinity River Publishing, July 2008. ISBN 978-60402-234-6
Benden, M

"The impact of stand-biased desks in classrooms on calorie expenditure in children"
2011 March 18 AJPH August 2011, Vol 101, No.8 pages 1433-1436 PMID: 21421945
Benden, M., Blake, J., Wendel, M, Huber C.

"An In-Situ Study of the Habits of Users that Impact Office Chair Design and Testing"
Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Feb 2011, No.1 Vol. 53, PMID 21469532
Benden, M., Congleton, J.J., Fink, R.

"Using Stand/Sit Workstations in Classrooms: Lessons Learned from a Pilot Study in Texas"
accepted for publication Dec 2010 in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.
Blake, J., Benden, M., Wendel, M.

"The Ability of the SenseWear - Armband to Assess a Change in Energy Expenditure in Children While Sitting and Standing".
JEPonline 2011;14(3):1-14
Benden M, Mancuso L, Zhao H, Pickens A.

Promoting active communities in a culture of distracted driving.
Prev Chronic Dis. 2012 Jan;9:E31. Epub 2011 Dec 15.
PMID:22172198
Smith ML, Benden ME, Lee C.

The Association of Sedentary Behaviors and Body Mass Index Classification in a Cross-Sectional Analysis: Are the Effects Homogenous?
BMC Public Health 2011 Dec 14;11(1):926; PMID:22168952
Dickerson JB, Smith ML, Benden ME, Ory MG.

A new method to compare alternative design concepts using expert opinion. A case study of seat development for a medical transport vehicle, Ergonomics in Design: The Quarterly of Human Factors Applications, Jan 2012 January 2012; vol. 20, 1:pp. 11-17.
Benden, M., Miller, K., Wilke, E., Ibarra, E.

MLWithin-Subjects Analysis of the Effects of a Stand-Biased Classroom Intervention on Energy Expenditure. JEPonline2012;15(2):9-19.
Benden ME, Wendel ML, Jeffrey CE, Zhao H, Morales

Ergonomics Principles Associated with Laparoscopic Surgeon Injury/Illness. The J. of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Dec 2012 vol. 54, No. 6, pp.1087-92.
Miller K, Benden M, Pickens A, Shipp E, Zheng Q

Reviewing four decades of cell phone use while driving literature (1970-2010): An emphasis on texting behaviors, parental perceptions, and methods of control. Journal of Health Behavior and Public Health, Vol 2, No. 2, pp. 20-26.
Benden, M., Smith, M. L., Henry, M., & Congleton, J. J.

Evaluating a school based childhood obesity intervention for posture and comfort. Health, Vol. 5 No83A, August 2013 pp 54-60.
Benden, M., Pickens, A., Shipp, E., Perry, J., Schneider, D.

The Safe Day Call: Reducing Silos in Health Care Through Frontline Risk
Assessment, Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, Volume 40, Number 10, October 2014, pp. 476.
Paterson, C; Miller, K; Benden, M; Shipp, E; Pickens, A; Wendel, M; Pronovost, P.

Standing Up for Activity Permissive Learning Environments, Texas School Business, Nov/Dec 2014 pp. 23-24. 
http://issuu.com/tasanet/docs/tsb-november14?e=11039933/9953276
Benden, M.

The effect of stand-biased desks on academic engagement: an exploratory study; International Journal of Health Promotion and Education Published online 21 Apr 2015.
Dornhecker, M.,  Blake, JJ., Benden, M., Zhao, H.,Wendel, M.

“New ANSI/BIFMA Standard for Testing of Educational Seating” Ergonomics in Design: The Quarterly of Human Factors Applications,
April 2015, Vol. 23, Number 2, pp 23-27.  
Bellingar, T., Benden M.

Patents

  • US Patent # 6,142,571 - Ergonomic Footrest Apparatus for a Chair - Fring
  • US Patent # 6,220,663 - Lumbar Pump Assembly for a Chair
  • US Patent # 6,296,312 - Ergonomic Armrest Assembly
  • US Patent # 6,290,295 - Air Pump Assembly for a Chair
  • US Patent # D458,777S - Onboard Instruction Guide
  • US Patent # D463,441S - Computer Accessories and Mouse Deck
  • US Patent # 6,604,786 - Support Apparatus for a Chair and Keyboard
  • US Patent # 6,607,246 - Improved Footrest for a Chair
  • US Patent # 6,877,812 B2 - Abstool "Support for a Seating Device"
  • US Patent # 7,036,886 - NeXtep - "Support for a Seating Device"
  • US Patent # 7,048,236 - "Vertical Adjustment Apparatus for a Keyboard" StandUp
  • US Patent # 7,104,606 - "Support for a Seating Device" AbStool - Dual use, 4 position, Rotating Support Cushion
  • US Patent #D541,061 - Seating Device - Balance - Chair Ergo
  • US Patent #D543,038 - Support for a Seating Device - Balance - Conference
  • US Patent #D557,513 - Foot Support - The N-position
  • US Patent #D588,245 - Elemental, Recycled Aluminum Keyboard Tray
  • US Patent # D649,368 - Stand biased desk
  • US Patent # D649,369 - Stand biased school desk with integrated stool
  • US Patent #8,303,011 - Lightweight Transportation Device

As of July 2015 - 3 additional patent applications were "Pending"