Industrial and systems engineering professor receives Breeden Professorship

Mark Schall, director of the Center for Occupational Safety, Ergonomics, and Injury Prevention and associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, has been named the Dr. Daniel F. and Josephine Breeden Professor by the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.

The Breeden Professorship is reserved for faculty who demonstrate exceptional commitment to their students, research and service within the college. Daniel Breeden, a 1957 industrial management graduate and 1993 recipient of an honorary doctorate at Auburn University, and his wife, Josephine, established the endowment to support a superior Samuel Ginn College of Engineering faculty member committed to the betterment of students, provision of high-quality instruction and ambitious efforts of research and service.

“Dr. Schall has already made a tremendous impact as a professor in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering,” said John L. Evans, who nominated Schall and is the director of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering’s Thomas Walter Center. “This professorship recognizes that impact. I look forward to watching him continue to grow as a leader of safety and ergonomics.”

Schall joined Auburn University as an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in 2015. He has held a joint appointment with the Auburn University School of Kinesiology since 2017 and was promoted to associate professor of industrial and systems engineering in 2020. Schall was named the director for the Center for Occupational Safety, Ergonomics, and Injury Prevention in January 2022.

Schall received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and doctoral degree in industrial engineering from the University of Iowa. Among his awards during his time at Auburn include the College of Engineering Research Award for Excellence and the Rising Star of Safety award by the National Safety Council. He was also awarded the Best Paper Award 2021, as co-author, by the Ergonomics Journal, as well as the 2020 Best Paper in the Occupational Ergonomics Technical Independent Research Category by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Schall will hold the distinction of Breeden Professor for five years.