Kristofer D. Kusano, a postdoctoral associate in biomedical engineering at Virginia Tech, has received the Society of Automotive Engineers International's Russell S. Springer Award.

Kusano works in the university's Center for Injury Biomechanics. His research focuses on the study of driver behavior to design better crash avoidance systems and predicting expected benefits of active safety systems in vehicle fleets. He specializes in data analytics for crash and naturalistic databases.

Kusano won the award for the paper he authored, "Field Relevance of the New Car Assessment Program Lane Departure Warning Confirmation Test."

Kusano received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2010 and his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 2013, both from Virginia Tech. His doctoral adviser was Clay Gabler, professor of biomedical engineering.

Kusano has authored 28 peer reviewed journal and conference papers; two of these papers received an "Outstanding Oral Presentation" award at the 2010 and 2012 SAE World Congresses.

Established in 1954, the Springer award recognizes the author of an original and outstanding technical paper presented at an SAE International meeting, and that is published in SAE International literature in the year for which the recipient is selected.

To encourage younger member achievement, the recipient must be an SAE International member who is at most 10 years out of school at the time of the presentation and whose paper is a distinct contribution to the literature of the professions of engineering.

Story provided by SAE International.

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