Visiting Researcher
Posted 06/05/2008
Leading Indian traffic safety expert collaborates with UMTRI
Dr. Dinesh Mohan, the leading traffic safety expert in India, joins UMTRI for the month of June as a visiting researcher in the Human Factors Division. Mohan will work with UMTRI colleagues to assess the current traffic safety situation in India and recommend future interventions and direction.
Mohan comes to UMTRI from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, where he is the Volvo chair professor for biomechanics and transportation safety, the coordinator of the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme, and the head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Safety Technology.
While at UMTRI, Mohan is performing research through the Strategic Worldwide Transportation 2020 program. He is working with Omer Tsimhoni, Michael Sivak, and Mike Flannagan, and their findings will be published in a technical report later this summer. Mohan says his work at UMTRI provides collaborative insights from transportation experts outside of India, who bring different backgrounds, training, and perspectives to the project. The collaboration also provides him the opportunity to focus exclusively on this important research issue.
Mohan's research interests include the biomechanics of impact, human tolerance to injury, road safety, sustainable transportation, pollution, rehabilitation aids for the disabled, and childhood injuries. He is also interested in developing ways for varied modes of transportation to share the roadways safely.
Mohan holds a Ph.D. degree in bioengineering from the University of Michigan, and he worked for UMTRI's Biosciences Division in the early 1970s. He obtained a B.Tech. in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, followed by a master's degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Delaware. He started his research career working on vibrations of anisotropic plates and moved on to mechanical properties of human aortic tissue. This was followed by work on head, chest, and femur injury tolerance, injuries in human free falls, the effectiveness of helmets and child seats, and the first evaluation of airbags in real-world crashes. This background helped him work on the epidemiology of road traffic crashes and injuries in rural India, helmet design, pedestrian, bicycle and motorcycle crash modeling, and technological aids for the disabled. Concerned with mobility and safety of people outside the car he is trying to integrate these issues within a broader framework of sustainable transport policies, urban transport options, and people's right to access and safety as a fundamental human right.
Mohan has consulted with many organizations including the Government of Delhi, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and the Airports Authority of India. He is a member of the American Society of Biomechanics, the American Society for Mechanical Engineers, the Biomedical Engineering Society of India, Burns Association of India, the Indian Society of Technical Education, the Indian Roads Congress, the Institution of Engineers, India, and the National Safety Council, India.
Mohan is a board member of the International Research Council on Biomechanics of Injury (IRCOBI) and a member of the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Accident Prevention. He serves on the editorial boards of several publications and has authored or coauthored seven books, and hundreds of reports and papers.