WSU
Director, Bioengineering Center, WSU
Dr. King Yang is Director of the Bioengineering Center and Professor in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Wayne State University, continuing the university’s long history of innovation in injury research. He earned a BSc in Mechanical Engineering (1976) at the National Taiwan University, then completed an MS (1981) and PhD (1985) in Mechanical Engineering at Wayne State University. He has been a visiting professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and University of Zurich (Switzerland), Monash University (Australia) and National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan). He has published more than three dozen articles in peer-reviewed journals, and, among other honors, was awarded the John P. Stapp Award for best paper in the Stapp Car Crash Journal in 2002 and First Prize in the Biomechanics Section for best paper at the International Congress on Whiplash Disorders in 2001.
Dr. Yang’s research interests include finite element modeling, orthopaedic biomechanics, whiplash injury mechanisms, and crashworthiness in transportation systems. His extensive research experience includes simulating motor vehicle injury events in controlled settings, using load data collected in the events to develop and evaluate computer models of how head and neck injuries occur in motor vehicle collisions. Building on that foundation, Dr. Yang is co-principal investigator of the SCIB project that is evaluating and enhancing the predictive capabilities of the Simulated Injury Monitor, known as SiMon. The project’s ultimate goal is to replace the existing head injury criterion (HIC) and update the regulatory standards for motor vehicle safety. Several other SCIB research projects are also targeted at providing data for use in Dr. Yang’s work with SIMon.
