Harold J. "Bud" Mertz is considered to be the driving force in the creation of the

Hybrid III The Hybrid III is the standard crash test dummy for frontal crash tests as of the beginning of the 21st century. It was initially only a 50th percentile male (equal in height and weight to the average North American male at the time of its devel ...

crash test dummy A crash test dummy, or simply dummy, is a full-scale anthropomorphic test device (ATD) that simulates the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body during a traffic collision. Dummies are used by researchers, automobi ...

, the standard dummy used today. Working with

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

in the late 1960s, Mertz designed and built the dummy which is today the only recognized test device in both

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

for restraint devices which protect against frontal collisions. Mertz earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, and took a course on

fluid dynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) an ...

under the tutelage of

Lawrence Patrick Lawrence Patrick (1920 – April 30, 2006) may well be considered one of the fathers of the crash test dummy. Between 1960 and 1975, while a biomechanics professor at Detroit's Wayne State University, Patrick described his work by saying "I was ...

, who was at the time using himself as a

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ani ...

in investigating the effects of car crashes on

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

s. Patrick offered Mertz an opportunity to work as his research assistant, and Mertz accepted. Mertz went on to do his graduate studies at Wayne State, and worked with

cadaver A cadaver or corpse is a dead human body that is used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Stud ...

s in crash testing studies too violent to use live volunteers. He completed his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

with a dissertation on

whiplash Whiplash may refer to: * The long flexible part of a whip * Whiplash (medicine), a neck injury ** Whiplash Injury Protection System (WHIPS), in automobiles Film and television * ''Whiplash'' (1948 film), a US film noir about a boxer * ''Whiplas ...

-type injuries in 1967, In 1969, he was hired as a senior researcher at GM. Mertz retired from General Motors in 2005, and lives with his wife in Harper Woods, Michigan.

External links

"GM's 'Father' of Hybrid III Crash Test Dummies Has Dedicated His Career to Automotive Safety"
''General Motors'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mertz, Harold 20th-century births Living people General Motors former executives Automotive safety pioneers Wayne State University alumni People from Harper Woods, Michigan Year of birth missing (living people)