Biography

Jason Forsyth is an Associate Professor of Engineering at James Madison University. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech in May 2015. His primary research interests are in wearable/ubiquitous computing and engineering education. Previously he was an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at York College of Pennsylvania from 2015 – 2018. He joined James Madison University in August 2018 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor effective August 2021.

His wearable computing work develops safety systems that provide continuous monitoring and sensing to protect human life. Previous work examined the role of wearable pulse oximetry in protecting construction workers from carbon monoxide poisoning and developing a warning system for roadside workers and emergency personnel to estimate potential vehicle strikes. His current research focuses on on-body human activity recognition and interactive machine learning for physical therapy patients and practitioners to increase exercise adherence and clinical evaluation. Jason leads the Wearable Computing Research Group at James Madison University, which actively engages undergraduate researchers and is supported by internal and external funding. Their work is frequently published in regional and national venues such as the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), the IEEE Systems and Information Engineering Design Symposium (SIEDS), and the ACM Capitol Region Celebration of Women in Computing (CAPWIC).

Jason has significant experience engaging with students inside and outside the classroom. At James Madison University, he has taught at all curriculum levels and developed new experiences and courses for students to engage in computer engineering topics. During his three years at York College of Pennsylvania, he specialized in microprocessors, embedded systems, and engineering capstone. As a graduate student at Virginia Tech, he taught a semester-long interactive architecture workshop to 3rd-year architecture students and a conference workshop for industrial designers using the Arduino prototyping kit. His research on engineering student experiences has been frequently published at the ASEE National Conference and IEEE Frontiers in Education.

Outside of the classroom, Jason was nominated for the New River Valley Leading Lights award for his work directing a tutoring program for disadvantaged middle and high school students. Additionally, his community-based capstone project to develop an automated greenhouse at a local elementary school was financially supported externally and internally through York College’s Great to Greater initiative and the York County Community Foundation.

Jason is the recipient of the 2012 Best Paper Award from IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering for working on wearable monitoring of carbon monoxide poisoning in construction workers.