Research
My research focuses on anthropometric data, accommodation analysis, virtual fit testing, data synthesis, and methods for evaluating how design decisions affect real user populations.
About
Engineering design, anthropometry, and human variability
I am a professor of Engineering Design and Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University and hold a PhD. My research and teaching focus on helping designers make better decisions for real human populations.
The work
About Matt Parkinson
My work brings together anthropometric data, computational design tools, inclusive design methods, and engineering judgment to support products, systems, standards, and environments that fit a broader range of people.
I introduced Design for Human Variability as a way to move beyond average-user assumptions and simplified percentile rules. The goal is to help designers evaluate accommodation, understand tradeoffs, and make evidence-based decisions using data that better reflects real populations.
Across my research, teaching, and tool development, I focus on practical methods that make human variability easier to understand and apply in engineering design.
Explore the researchProfessional work
Research, tools, teaching, and standards work connected by one goal
My work centers on making human variability actionable for engineering design decisions.
Tools
I develop research-backed tools that help designers explore anthropometric data, evaluate fit, and translate human variability into practical design constraints.
Teaching
I teach engineering students to combine modeling, computation, design judgment, and evidence-based reasoning to solve real-world engineering design problems.
Standards and guidelines
I contribute to standards-related work that supports better representation of human variability in design guidance and technical decision-making.
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