Science for the People The Life and Contributions of Mark Chignell

The present work provides both assessment and appreciation of the profound and deeply human contributions of the scientist Mark Hume Chignell. His varying conceptual, methodological, and applied innovations are set within a career chronology that features a focus on his humanity as much as it does on his science. Having assimilated the disparate, yet still coherent scientific disciplines of both psychology and engineering, it is of little surprise that Chignell’s oeuvre featured a Human Factors/Ergonomics emphasis in which he might well be considered the quintessential engineering psychologist. Whilst making crucial contributions to the theoretical formulations concerning adaptative and expert systems, Chignell was never content to be isolated in the experimental laboratory but felt obliged and even mandated to carry progress being made therein out into the world of users. His later work on assistive medical technologies for the elderly typified these concerns and embodied his lifelong dedication to the improvement of humanity. This characteristic, whether expressed through his far-reaching science or in his immediate professional and social presence, ran as a golden thread throughout his lifetime, and now beyond.