National Academies Press: OpenBook

Review of Department of Defense Test Protocols for Combat Helmets (2014)

Chapter: Appendix F: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

« Previous: Appendix E: Synopsis of Brain Injury Detection Methods
Suggested Citation:"Appendix F: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2014. Review of Department of Defense Test Protocols for Combat Helmets. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18621.
×

Appendix F


Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

Vijayan N. Nair, Chair, is the Donald A. Darling professor of statistics and professor of industrial and operations engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Previously, he was a research scientist at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey for 15 years. His areas of expertise include quality improvement and system development, particularly in industrial applications. Dr. Nair has done extensive consulting work with the automotive and telecommunications industries. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Statistical Association (ASA), the American Society for Quality (ASQ), and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS). Dr. Nair is currently president of the International Statistical Institute (ISI) and is past-president of the International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics. He served as editor of Technometrics and is currently co-editor-in-chief of the International Statistical Review. He was a member of the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on National Statistics, the NRC Board on Mathematical Sciences and their Applications, and has served on several NRC panels on statistics and testing in defense acquisition. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Malaya and a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Christine M. Anderson-Cook has been a research scientist in the Statistical Sciences Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory since 2004. Her current research areas include design of experiments, response surface methodology, system reliability, and multiple criteria optimization. She was a faculty member in the Department of Statistics at the Virginia Polytechnic and State University from 1996 to 2004. Dr. Anderson-Cook is a fellow of the ASA as well as the ASQ. She has more than 100 peer-reviewed publications in professional statistics and interdisciplinary journals and is currently serving on the editorial boards of Technometrics, the Journal of Quality Technology, Quality and Reliability Engineering International, and Quality Engineering. She has served as the Chair of the ASQ Statistics Division (2010-and the ASA Section on Quality and Productivity (2006). Dr. Anderson-Cook holds a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, as well as an M.S. in statistics (University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada).

Cameron R. Bass is director of the Injury Biomechanics Laboratory in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Duke University. He is a recognized expert in blast and ballistic injury risk modeling with more than 15 years of experience in biomechanics. This includes substantial experience in developing biomechanical injury models of blast, ballistic, and blunt trauma. Following postdoctoral experience (on an a National Science Foundation fellowship) developing injury biomechanics models for blunt impact at the University of Virginia, Dr. Bass established a military and high-rate biomechanics program at the University of Virginia Center for Applied Biomechanics, which he ran from 1995 to 2008. Since 2008, he has led efforts in bio-mechanics at Duke University in the Injury Biomechanics Laboratory. One initial focus of the program was cranial, thoracic, and spinal injuries from behind-armor blunt trauma and other biomechanically based injury risk functions. In recent years, Dr. Bass’s program has focused on the assessment of brain and thoracic trauma from primary blast and high-rate blunt trauma. He has developed animal and human cadaver models for assessing blast injuries, including the first large animal model, which demonstrated diffuse injury to axons from short-duration blasts that do not cause fatality from pulmonary trauma. Dr. Bass has more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in biomechanics, including blast and blunt injury biomechanics and tissue biomechanics. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

Thomas F. Budinger (NAE/IOM) holds concurrent positions with the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), where he is a professor of the Graduate School, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) where he is

Suggested Citation:"Appendix F: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2014. Review of Department of Defense Test Protocols for Combat Helmets. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18621.
×

senior scientist. He is professor emeritus at University of California, San Francisco, where he was a professor of radiology from 1984 to 2008 and previously served as director of the Magnetic Resonance Science Center and Research PET [Positron Emission Tomography] (1993-1997). At UCB, he has been a professor of bioinstrumentation, electrical engineering, and computer sciences since 1976 and is the founding chair of the Department of Bioengineering. Dr. Budinger was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1996 and to the Institute of Medicine in 1990. He has authored numerous papers on biomedical electronics, aging, cardiovascular physiology, bioastronautics, image processing and reconstruction, nuclear magnetic resonance, positron emission tomography, reconstruction tomography, and inverse problem mathematics. Dr. Budinger received a B.S. in chemistry from Regis College, an M.S. degree in physical oceanography from the University of Washington, Seattle, an M.D. in medicine from the University of Colorado, Denver, and a Ph.D. in medical physics from UCB. He served in the Arctic and Antarctica as a U.S. Coast Guard officer.

Michael J. Cushing recently retired as director of the U.S. Army Evaluation Center s Reliability and Maintainability Directorate. In this position he directed the evaluation of 550 active Army and Department of Defense (DoD) systems with respect to their reliability and maintainability characteristics. Dr. Cushing earned a B.S. degree in electronic engineering and computer science from Johns Hopkins University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in reliability engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. During 30 years in military reliability, he authored numerous publications, helped formulate and implement a variety of Army and DoD reliability policies, and contributed towards several reliability standards.

Robert G. Easterling is retired from Sandia National Laboratories where he was a statistical consultant, manager, and senior scientist. He spent the majority of his career investigating and promoting the application of statistical methods to various engineering issues, with emphasis on statistical methods for reliability evaluation. He is a fellow of the ASA, a former editor of Technometrics, and a recipient of the ASQ’s Brumbaugh Award. Since retirement from Sandia, he has been an itinerant visiting professor at various universities and has taught an introductory statistics short course at Sandia. He holds a Ph.D. in statistics from Oklahoma State University.

Ronald D. Fricker, Jr., is a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School. His current research is focused on the performance of various statistical methods for use in biosurveillance, particularly epidemiologic surveillance, and statistical process control methodologies more generally. Dr. Fricker holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in statistics from Yale University, an M.S. in operations research from George Washington University, and a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy. Upon graduation from the Naval Academy, he served as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy. Dr. Fricker is a fellow of the ASA and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute. He has published widely in professional journals and is on the editorial boards of Statistics, Politics and Policy, and the International Journal of Quality Technology and Engineering. He has served as the chair of the section on Statistics in Defense and National Security (SDNS) of the ASA and, prior to the creation of SDNS, he was a member of the Committee on Statisticians in Defense and National Security, serving as both chair and vice chair.

Peter N. Fuller (Major General, U.S. Army retired) is the president and chief operating officer at Cypress International, a business development and acquisition management consulting firm operating for over 36 years. Previously, he was the deputy commander for programs, NATO Training Mission—Afghanistan, and was responsible for planning and executing resources in order to generate and sustain the Afghan security forces. He integrated and synchronized all processes to include requirements generation, acquisition, funding, construction, logistics, and contract management for a yearly program valued at over $10 billion dollars comprised of infrastructure, equipment, training, and sustainment efforts. He also coordinated with external organizations such as the Defense Contract Management Agency, Corps of Engineers, Joint Task Force-435, NATO International Security Assistance Force, ISAF Joint Command, Combined Air Power Transition Force, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Staff. Prior to his assignment in Afghanistan, he was Program Executive Officer—Soldier. In his capacity as PEO Soldier, General Fuller was responsible for ensuring all Soldiers were lethal, survivable and able to operate in any environment. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1980 after graduating from the University of Vermont with a B.A. in history and political science. He also holds an M.S. in public administration from Shippensburg University, an M.S. in military arts and sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and an M.S. in resourcing of the national security strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. General Fuller’s assignments include assistant director for acquisition (PATRIOT), Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Washington, D.C.; systems coordinator, U.S. Army Staff for Anti-Armor Missiles; project manager, Stryker Brigade Combat Team; deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia; and Program Executive Officer—Soldier, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Raúl Radovitzky is the associate director, Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, and a professor of aeronautics and astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Radovitzky was born in Argentina and educated at the

Suggested Citation:"Appendix F: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2014. Review of Department of Defense Test Protocols for Combat Helmets. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18621.
×

University of Buenos Aires, where he obtained his civil engineering degree. He received his S.M. in applied mathematics from Brown University and his Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. He joined MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2001 as the Charles Stark Draper Assistant Professor. Dr. Radovitzky’s research interests are in the development of advanced concepts and material systems for blast, ballistic, and impact protection. To this end, his research group develops theoretical and computational descriptions of the physical event and its effects on structures and humans, including advanced computational methods and algorithms for large-scale simulation. The resulting models help to improve the understanding of the various physical components of the problem and thus to design protective systems. Dr. Radovitzky’s educational interests include computational mechanics, continuum mechanics, aerospace structures, mechanics of materials, numerical methods, and high-performance computing. He is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, International Association of Computational Mechanics, American Academy of Mechanics, Materials Research Society, U.S. Association of Computational Mechanics, and American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Ernest Seglie is retired from the position of science advisor of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Operational Test and Evaluation. His responsibilities included providing scientific and technical guidance on the overall approach to DoD evaluation of the operational effectiveness and suitability of major DoD weapons systems. He received a B.S. in physics from Cooper Union and a Ph.D. in theoretical nuclear physics from University of Massachusetts. He taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Yale University before joining the Institute for Defense Analyses in 1979. He received the Andrew J. Goodpaster Award for Excellence in Research in 1987, the International Test and Evaluation Association 2009 Allen R. Matthews Award for “leadership and technical contributions to the evaluation of operational effectiveness and suitability,” and the National Defense Industrial Association Walter W. Hollis Award in 2009. In addition, he received the President of the United States’ Rank Conferral of Meritorious Senior Professional in 2003 and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service in 2010, which included mention that he “led the drive to apply statistical methods to test design and evaluation.” Recent areas of interest include test and evaluation policy in DoD, and reliability.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix F: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2014. Review of Department of Defense Test Protocols for Combat Helmets. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18621.
×
Page 138
Suggested Citation:"Appendix F: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2014. Review of Department of Defense Test Protocols for Combat Helmets. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18621.
×
Page 139
Suggested Citation:"Appendix F: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2014. Review of Department of Defense Test Protocols for Combat Helmets. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18621.
×
Page 140
Review of Department of Defense Test Protocols for Combat Helmets Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $54.00 Buy Ebook | $43.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

Combat helmets have evolved considerably over the years from those used in World War I to today's Advanced Combat Helmet. One of the key advances was the development of aramid fibers in the 1960s, which led to today's Kevlar-based helmets. The Department of Defense is continuing to invest in research to improve helmet performance, through better design and materials as well as better manufacturing processes.

Review of the Department of Defense Test Protocols for Combat Helmets considers the technical issues relating to test protocols for military combat helmets. At the request of the DOD Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, this report evaluates the adequacy of the Advanced Combat Helmet test protocol for both first article testing and lot acceptance testing, including its use of the metrics of probability of no penetration and the upper tolerance limit (used to evaluate backface deformation). The report evaluates appropriate use of statistical techniques in gathering data; adequacy of current helmet testing procedures; procedures for the conduct of additional analysis of penetration and backface deformation data; and scope of characterization testing relative to the benefit of the information obtained.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!