Samuel W. Alderson
Encyclopedia
Samuel W. Alderson was an inventor best known for his development of the crash test dummy
, a device that, during the last half of the twentieth century, was widely used by automobile manufacturers to test the reliability of automobile seat belt
s and other safety protocols.
Alderson was raised in California
where his Romanian
-immigrant father ran a custom sheet-metal and sign shop. He graduated from high school at the age of 15 and went on to study at several well-known California colleges. He frequently interrupted his education to help out with the family sheet-metal business. He completed his formal education at the University of California, Berkeley
under the tutelage of J. Robert Oppenheimer and Ernest O. Lawrence, but did not complete his doctoral dissertation.
In 1952, he began his own company, Alderson Research Laboratories,and quickly won a contract to create an anthropometric dummy for use in testing aircraft ejection seats. At about the same time, automobile manufacturers were being challenged to produce safer vehicles, and to do so without relying on live volunteers or human cadaver
s.
In 1966, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act
was passed, which together with Ralph Nader
's book, "Unsafe at Any Speed" put the search for an anatomically faithful test dummy into high gear. With this as a goal, Alderson produced the V.I.P., a dummy designed to mimic an average male's acceleration and weight properties, and to reproduce the effects of impact like a real person. His work went on to see the creation of the Hybrid family of test dummies, which as of the beginning of the 21st century are the de facto standards for testing.
Alderson also worked for the U.S. military. During World War II
, he helped develop an optical coating to improve the vision of submarine periscopes, and worked on depth charge and missile guidance technology. He also helped create dummies, known as "medical phantoms", that reacted to radiation, and synthetic wounds, used in emergency training simulations, which behaved like real wounds. Later on, he built dummies to test the Apollo
nose cone's water landing capability.
Alderson died at his home in Marina Del Rey, California
, due to complications from myelofibrosis
.
Crash test dummy
Crash test dummies are full-scale anthropomorphic test devices that simulate the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body, and are usually instrumented to record data about the dynamic behavior of the ATD in simulated vehicle impacts...
, a device that, during the last half of the twentieth century, was widely used by automobile manufacturers to test the reliability of automobile seat belt
Seat belt
A seat belt or seatbelt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a collision or a sudden stop...
s and other safety protocols.
Alderson was raised in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
where his Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
-immigrant father ran a custom sheet-metal and sign shop. He graduated from high school at the age of 15 and went on to study at several well-known California colleges. He frequently interrupted his education to help out with the family sheet-metal business. He completed his formal education at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
under the tutelage of J. Robert Oppenheimer and Ernest O. Lawrence, but did not complete his doctoral dissertation.
In 1952, he began his own company, Alderson Research Laboratories,and quickly won a contract to create an anthropometric dummy for use in testing aircraft ejection seats. At about the same time, automobile manufacturers were being challenged to produce safer vehicles, and to do so without relying on live volunteers or human cadaver
Cadaver
A cadaver is a dead human body.Cadaver may also refer to:* Cadaver tomb, tomb featuring an effigy in the form of a decomposing body* Cadaver , a video game* cadaver A command-line WebDAV client for Unix....
s.
In 1966, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act
National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act
The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was enacted in the United States in 1966 to empower the federal government to set and administer new safety standards for motor vehicles and road traffic safety. The Act created the National Highway Safety Bureau...
was passed, which together with Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
's book, "Unsafe at Any Speed" put the search for an anatomically faithful test dummy into high gear. With this as a goal, Alderson produced the V.I.P., a dummy designed to mimic an average male's acceleration and weight properties, and to reproduce the effects of impact like a real person. His work went on to see the creation of the Hybrid family of test dummies, which as of the beginning of the 21st century are the de facto standards for testing.
Alderson also worked for the U.S. military. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he helped develop an optical coating to improve the vision of submarine periscopes, and worked on depth charge and missile guidance technology. He also helped create dummies, known as "medical phantoms", that reacted to radiation, and synthetic wounds, used in emergency training simulations, which behaved like real wounds. Later on, he built dummies to test the Apollo
Apollo spacecraft
The Apollo spacecraft was composed of five combined parts designed to accomplish the American Apollo program's goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by the end of the 1960s and returning them safely to Earth...
nose cone's water landing capability.
Alderson died at his home in Marina Del Rey, California
Marina del Rey, California
-Demographics:-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Marina del Rey had a population of 8,866. The population density was 6,094.6 people per square mile...
, due to complications from myelofibrosis
Myelofibrosis
Myelofibrosis, also known as myeloid metaplasia, chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis, osteomyelofibrosis and primary myelofibrosis is a disorder of the bone marrow...
.