Kimiye Wenger of Lititz is one of three senior engineering students at Cedarville University, Cedarville, Ohio, who had the opportunity to work with the U.S. Air Force accommodations group at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in advanced biomechanics technology. This project was part of the students' senior capstone project, which was completed prior to their graduation in May.

The three students submitted a proposal to Wright Patterson Air Force Base to create customizable helmets for Air Force pilots. Instruments on the forward portion of the current helmets add weight and shift the center of gravity of the helmets forward, which can cause neck fatigue and create risk of injuries if an airman is ejected from the plane. The students' goal was to customize the helmet to bring the helmet center of gravity more closely in line with the center of gravity of the pilot's head.

The capstone team focused on using a CT scan segmentation analysis to identify the center of gravity of the human head using information from a cadaver database. The team encountered various technical challenges in its research and modeling, providing learning opportunities.

Wenger and the others have completed their assignment and have given the project to a new group of engineering students, which will continue the work in August. The new team will use head and face 3D scans to further improve and customize the helmet designs. Tim Norman, capstone adviser and distinguished professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering, co-advises the project with Jennifer Whitestone, chief scientist at Solutions Through Innovative Technologies Inc. in Fairborn, Ohio.