Education
University of Wisconsin–Madison. University of Illinois system. University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
University of Wisconsin–Madison. University of Illinois system. University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
lieutenant was at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where Stumpf, working with specialists in orthopedic and vascular medicine, conducted extensive research into ergonomics, specifically in the way people sit. In 1974, Herman Miller commissioned him to apply his research to office seating. Two years later, the Ergon chair was introduced.
Stumpf was born in Saint Louis, Missouri.
His father died when he was 13, and his mother, a gerontology nurse, relocated the family to Winona, Minnesota, to be near her family. He served in the United States. Navy and then earned a bachelor"s in industrial design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a master"s in environmental design from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Stumpf"s association with Herman Miller began in 1970 when he joined the staff of the Herman Miller Research Corporation. After establishing his own firm in 1972, Stumpf created the Ergon chair, the first ergonomic work chairman
Later, in collaboration with Don Chadwick, he produced the groundbreaking Equa and iconic Aeron chairs.
He also was principal designer for the Ethospace system. Stumpf"s death at age 70 was attributed to complications from abdominal surgery.