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Obituary.(Alphonse Chapanis)(Brief Article)

Ergonomics pioneer dies

Alphonse Chapanis, a founder of the ergonomics discipline and promoter of the use of human factors in design, died in October. He was 85.

One of Chapanis' most notable projects was the development of the keypad for push-button telephones. The configuration he designed more than 40 years ago remains the industry standard. His work for the U.S. Army during World War II has also been frequently cited as groundbreaking.

Chapanis was the co-author of App

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