Lawrence Patrick

Lawrence Patrick (1920 – April 30, 2006<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) was an American scientist and researcher who is 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 a human crash-test dummy".<ref>Mary Roach (November 19, 1999), I was a human crash-test dummy Template:Webarchive. Salon.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.</ref> Patrick allowed himself to be subject to over 400 rocket sled rides,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> crushing blows to the head and body, and other forms of physical abuse in an effort to develop a body of data on how the human body responded in a vehicle accident. One of his students, Harold Mertz, went on to develop Hybrid III, the current worldwide standard crash test dummy. Lawrence also subjected himself to a 50 pound pendulum to the breast plate to test the effects of a steering column on a human. Lawrence died of Parkinson's disease on April 30, 2006, at the age of 85.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>