Come say Hi!
Brian
Topic is as follows:
Brian McHenry, McHenry Software, Inc
A Short History of Nearly Everything (…about computers in Highway Safety)
- In the 2005 book A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson entertains and enlightens while taking readers on a journey from the Big Bang to the present day with all things scientific in between. If you haven’t read this book, do so, you will certainly learn while enjoying the read!
In the same spirit of things, Brian McHenry will take you from the Big Bang of the 60’s digital computer revolution to the present with all things computer with respect to highway safety in between.
In the early 60’s, Consumer Reports found that US seat belts didn’t pass the European Standards. Why? Learn how and why Brian’s father Raymond R. McHenry and his team at Calspan (then known as Cornell Aeronautical laboratory) created the first occupant simulation model to assist in the investigation and understanding of the differences between US and European belt standards. Then as the digital revolution progressed and with the passage of the Highway Safety Act, you’ll learn how McHenry was the mind behind many more computer models to help investigate errant vehicles on the highway, vehicle collisions and vehicle safety; Crash Victim Simulator (CVS), Highway vehicle Object Simulation Model (HVOSM), Simulation Model of Automobile Collisions (SMAC), Computerized Reconstruction of Accident Speeds on the Highway (CRASH). Since the late seventies, Ray and Brian have worked and researched together (and continue to do so) refining and enhancing computer models to push forward the state-of-the art of highway safety.
This presentation will take you on the technical journey of the McHenrys from mainframe systems of the 60’s through the mini and microcomputer revolutions to the present day real time live interactive 3D systems, demonstrating how advances in digital computers, communications and storage technology have revolutionized our understanding of the complexities of occupant, vehicle and highway safety.