Volvo Scholarship for the People behind the Crash Test Dummy

The development of crash test dummies has played a vital role in terms of car safety. Two researchers into traffic safety are now being rewarded for their crucial work in the field of biomechanical research. The Håkan Frisinger Foundation for Transportation Research has awarded its 2015 scholarship of SEK 250,000 to Associate Professor Astrid Linder and Professor Mats Svensson.

Astrid Linder is Associate Professor of Injury Prevention at Chalmers University of Technology and Research Director at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI). She realized at an early stage of her research that women run a considerably higher risk than men of being affected by whiplash in the neck, and that there was no model for an average woman which could be used to test and develop car safety. Astrid Linder therefore developed a female crash dummy to improve the protection of all passengers in vehicles.

Mats Svensson is Professor of Injury Prevention at Chalmers and leader of SAFER’s (Vehicle and Traffic Safety Center at Chalmers) Competence Area for biomechanical and protection systems. His research into whiplash has led, for example, to the development of the BioRID whiplash crash test dummy, which has now become a global standard.

”Astrid Linder and Mats Svensson have contributed vital efforts to developing biomechanical research for the benefit of the Swedish automotive industry. Moreover, the implications of this research have led to a drastic reduction in human suffering”, the Scientific Council outlines in its motivation.

The scholarship will be awarded by the Håkan Frisinger Foundation at a seminar held in the afternoon on April 6, 2016 in the Virtual Development Laboratory at Chalmers University of Technology. Volvo Research & Educational Foundations (VREF), the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers will organize a seminar in connection with the scholarship award ceremony.

For more information and to register for the seminar, contact Moa Persson, moa.persson@chalmers.se, tel: +46 (0) 729 81 25 84

Link to registration (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1IbTlDOCSho5IRrM8vcN5zL1OwKL8aCwC6SKWGgLKp3c/viewform?usp=send_form)

Volvo Research & Educational Foundations (VREF) www.vref.se

Image of Astrid Linder http://images.volvogroup.com/latelogin.jspx?recordsWithCatalogName=ab+volvo:6678

Image of Mats Svensson http://images.volvogroup.com/latelogin.jspx?recordsWithCatalogName=ab+volvo:6679

February 26, 2016

Journalists who would like additional information, please contact Katarina Gårdfeldt, katarina.gardfeldt@chalmers.se Tel: +46 (0)31 772 49 63

Håkan Frisinger was CEO of Volvo between 1983 and 1987 and Chairman of the Board between 1997 and 1999. Nomination of recipients of the Frisinger scholarship is conducted by the Chalmers University of Technology based on an agreement between Chalmers and Volvo Research & Educational Foundations (VREF)

For more stories from the Volvo Group, please visit http://www.volvogroup.com/globalnews.

The Volvo Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine and industrial engines. The Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. The Volvo Group, which employs about 100,000 people, has production facilities in 19 countries and sells its products in more than 190 markets. In 2015 the Volvo Group’s sales amounted to about SEK 313 billion (EUR 33,4 billion). The Volvo Group is a publicly-held company headquartered in Göteborg, Sweden. Volvo shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. For more information, please visit www.volvogroup.com or www.volvogroup.mobi if you are using your mobile phone.

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