Stefan Duma reappointed as Harry Wyatt Professor in Engineering
Stefan Duma, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics in the College of Engineering and director of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science at Virginia Tech, has been reappointed as the Harry Wyatt Professor in Engineering by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The Wyatt Professorship is named for Harry C. Wyatt, a Montgomery County native who graduated in 1924 with an electrical engineering degree from Virginia Tech. He worked at Norfolk and Western Railway, rising to senior vice president in the Roanoke, Va., office. He became a member of the university's board of visitors in 1962, serving as rector in 1964. Following his death in 1970, friends in the railroad industry established the professorship in 1985.
Duma has held the Wyatt Professorship since 2012.
A member of the Virginia Tech community since 2000, Duma is internationally recognized for his landmark studies in injury biomechanics and traumatic brain injury. He is a prolific author who has published more than 480 technical papers in the field of injury biomechanics including 144 peer-reviewed journal papers and two books.
Duma was the founding director of the Virginia Tech Wake Forest Center for Injury Biomechanics, now the world's largest injury biomechanics group. He also pioneered the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings, which for the first time provided consumers with independent, evidence-based information about how well sports equipment reduces concussion risk.
Duma has received more than $50 million in external funding from sources including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and several industry sponsors.
He is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He also serves as the editor of the Annals of Biomedical Engineering and associate editor of the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention.
Duma received his bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, a master's degree from the University of Cincinnati, and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.
Related stories
