Biography

Dr. Bird joined the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) faculty in 2007. His technical rigor, innovative approach and straightforward style provide tremendous value to undergraduate and graduate students alike. He has authored several publications on industrial hygiene issues, as well as presented research findings at national conferences. Dr. Bird has co-authored at textbook entitled Quantitative Methods for Occupational Safety and Health, to be published July 2010. His research areas are focused on design of hazardous materials containment systems, design of ventilation for unique worker exposures, and evaluation of worker perceptions of hazards. Dr. Bird received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, with a minor in Chemistry from Fairmont State College in West Virginia. He earned a Master of Science in Occupational Hygiene and Safety as well as a Doctorate of Philosophy in Industrial Engineering from West Virginia University. 

Before joining Oakland for his academic appointment, Dr. Bird spent 18 months at CD-AdapCo, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software company, where he was an Application Support Engineer. He also served 7 years in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). With NIOSH he held positions as an industrial hygienist and physical scientist while managing research activities as a project officer.

Professor Bird is a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), and Sigma Xi, the scientific fraternity. He is faculty advisor for the OU Student Section of ASSE. He is also faculty advisor for the OU student Zeta Chapter of the Rho Sigma Kappa Honor Society. Dr. Bird has served the University in the following ways: OSH Industry Advisory Board since 2007; Physical Therapy Faculty Search Committee - Fall 2008; Physical Therapy Faculty Search Committee - Fall 2008 to Winter 2009; Executive Committee - Fall 2008 to March 2009; Committee on Appointment and Promotion - Winter 2009 to Winter 2010. 

Courses

OSH 141 Quantitative Methods in Occupational Safety and Health 

OSH 331 Occupational Safety I: Engineering and Technology

OSH 333 Fire Prevention and Protection

OSH 334 Industrial Environment I: Evaluations 

OSH 335 Industrial Environment II: Controls 

OSH 336 Industrial Environment Lab 

OSH 540 Loss Control and Risk Assessment

OSH 560 Applied System Safety Analysis