Dr. Tarawneh joined BWC as Superintendent of the Division of Safety & Hygiene in March 2009. Abe has over 17 years experience in research and consulting in the areas of human factors and ergonomics, occupational safety and health, industrial and management systems engineering, and transportation and traffic safety.

Before joining BWC, Abe led several large consulting projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a Cincinnati-based engineering consulting firm, TEC Engineering, Inc. Between 2002 and 2006, Abe worked as an engineer/senior engineer at Exponent, Failure Analysis Associates, Inc. in Alexandria, Va. and Philadelphia, Pa. His work at Exponent included the investigation and analysis of industrial, construction, consumer product and vehicular accidents. He also worked on the application of U.S., European and international regulations and standards (i.e. OSHA, OHSAS, ISO, ANSI) for the design and evaluation of products; machinery; handling of chemicals and hazardous materials; and manufacturing and construction operations.

While working on his post-graduate studies, Abe worked as a graduate research/teaching assistant and as an instructor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). His work at UNL covered wide ranging aspects of research and consulting in the areas of industrial and civil engineering, including occupational safety and health, human factors and ergonomics, and transportation and traffic safety.

Abe holds a doctorate and a master's in industrial and management systems engineering; another master's in civil engineering from UNL; and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Jordan.