After months of speculation, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao named 15 individuals to form OSHA's National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics.

The committee is chartered initially for two years and is expected to meet two to four times annually beginning in 2003. It will advise the agency on issues related to OSHA's four-pronged approach to reducing ergonomic-related injuries in the workplace - guidelines, research, outreach and assistance, and enforcement.

Here are the members:

Edward J. Bernacki, M.D., M.P.H. - Associate Professor and Director, Occupational Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and current president of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Lisa M. Brooks, C.I.E. - Health and Safety Program Manager for International Paper Company, Memphis, TN.

Paul A. Fontana - President/CEO, Center for Work Rehabilitation, Inc. at the Fontana Center, Lafayette, LA.

Willis J. Goldsmith, Esq. - Partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue.

Carter J. Kerk, Ph.D. - Associate Professor in the Industrial Engineering Program at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

James L. Koskan, MS, CSP - Corporate Director of Risk Control, SUPERVALU, Inc., Minneapolis, MN.

Morton L. Kasdan, M.D., F.A.C.S. - Clinical Professor of Surgery (Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery) at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY.

George P. LaPorte - Ergonomics Manager for NATLSCO, the loss control division of Kemper Insurance Companies, Lake Zurich, IL.

Barbara McCabe - Program Manager, Operating Engineers National Hazmat Program, Beaver, WV.

J. Dan McCausland - Consultant, and Director, Worker Safety and Human Resources, American Meat Institute.

Audrey Nelson, Ph.D., RN - Center Director for: VHA Patient Safety Center of Inquiry, VHA Health Services Research Program on Patient Safety Outcomes; and Suncoast Development Research Evaluation Research Center on Safe Patient Transitions.

Lida Orta-Anes, Ph.D. - Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico.

Roxanne Rivera - President and CEO, PMR Construction Services, Inc., Albuquerque, NM.

W. Corey Thompson - National Safety and Health Specialist, American Postal Workers Union, Washington, D.C.

Richard Wyatt, Ph.D. - Associate Director, Aon Ergonomic Services, Huntsville, AL.