Magnus Gens
Magnus Gens | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | KTH Royal Institute of Technology |
| Known for | Building a crash test dummy moose |
| Awards | Ig Nobel Prize (2022) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Thesis | Moose Crash Test Dummy (2001) |
Magnus Gens is a Swedish engineer known for his development of a moose crash test dummy in his 2001 master's thesis. In 2022, the thesis earned him the Ig Nobel Prize for safety engineering, which honors unusual but important research.
Thesis
[edit]In 1994, Gens began working on his master's thesis for the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm which involved the creation of a crash test dummy to emulate an automobile collision with a moose in order to improve safety in vehicles.[2] During process, he worked alongside the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (Swedish: Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, VTI) and the auto manufacturer Saab.[3] Gens also consulted with a veterinarian and the Kolmården Zoo in order to become acquainted with the animal's physical characteristics.[4] The vehicle crash tests were performed on two relatively-new Saab 9-5s and one older Volvo 245 at the Saab facility in Trollhättan.[5][6]
In 2001, Gens published his master's thesis, Moose Crash Test Dummy, with the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute.[3] The moose itself was built using 116 rubber plates which were fastened together with steel tubes and wiring.[7] The thesis provided data on how moose hit vehicles and the dummy is designed to be hit several times before a replacement is necessary.[6] Prior to publication, VTI had been asked to provide horse and camel analogs for testing and similar testing for kangaroo–vehicle collisions had begun in Australia.[8][9]
Use in auto safety
[edit]| Elk/Moose Crash Test - Volvo V70 Estate (70 Km/h) | |
|---|---|
 | |
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98ZK_kknP9U |
Gens's thesis has been the basis of tests in several countries. Moose crash test dummies based on his design have been in a large number of automobile safety tests in Sweden and Spain.[11] Saab's participation in the study helped to start its reputation as a "moose-proof vehicle manufacturer".[12]
In 2008, the television show MythBusters obtained Gens's permission to use a modified version of his model in testing a moose auto collision theory in the episode "Alaska Special".[13]
Award
[edit]In 2022, Gens was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize, an award for "research that makes people laugh, but also think", in safety engineering.[14] The cash prize was a ten trillion Zimbabwean dollar banknote.[15]
Although initially frustrated that his work did not receive much traction at publication, he has expressed hope that renewed attention to the paper will bring more attention to automobile accidents involving wildlife.[16] As a result of the award, Gens was offered an open invitation to lecture at Harvard University.[17]
See also
[edit]- Moose test – a test used to evade a suddenly-appearing object in an automobile
- Deer–vehicle collisions
- Wildlife crossing
- Roadkill
- Epidemiology of motor vehicle collisions
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ Marquis 2022, ¶3.
- ^
- For the start date, see Gens 2001, p. 2.
- For everything else, see Hartley 2024, ¶7.
- ^ a b Gummeson 2022, ¶4.
- ^ Gens 2001, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Gens 2001, pp. 3, 27–28.
- ^ a b Ouellette 2022, § Safety Engineering Prize.
- ^
- Hartley 2024, ¶7.
- Gummeson 2022, ¶4.
- Gens 2001, p. 3.
- ^ Gens 2001, p. 29.
- ^ Hartley 2024.
- ^ Marquis 2022.
- ^
- For testing in Sweden, see Halford 2022, ¶6.
- For Spain, see Gummeson 2022, ¶13.
- ^ Hartley 2024, ¶8.
- ^ MythBusters 2008, 15:45–16:14.
- ^
- For the description of the award, see Gummeson 2022, ¶3, Amos 2022, ¶3, and Marquis 2022, ¶2.
- For the award being given for safety engineering, see Marquis 2022, ¶3
- For his being given the award, see Hartley 2024, ¶8.
- ^
- Collins 2022, ¶2.
- Marquis 2022, ¶2.
- Amos 2022, ¶19.
- ^ Gummeson 2022, ¶5, ¶12.
- ^ Gummeson 2022, ¶15.
Sources
[edit]- Amos, Jonathan (30 September 2022). "Swedish moose crash-test dummy wins spoof Ig Nobel prize". BBC. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- Collins, Richard (29 September 2022). "Moose crash test dummy could save lives". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- Gens, Magnus (2001). Moose Crash Test Dummy (PDF). VTI Särtryck (Master's thesis). Linköping, Sweden: Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- Gummeson, Christer (2022). "Moose mannequin a belated success". KTH Royal Institute of Technology News Archive. Stockholm: KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- Halford, Bethany (16 September 2022). "2022 Ig Nobel Prizes". Chemical & Engineering News. American Chemical Society. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- Hartley, Sophie (2 April 2024). "Carmakers give up on software that avoids kangaroos". Ars Technica. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- Marquis, Erin (16 September 2022). "Moose Crash Test Dummy Takes Home an Ig Noble Award in Safety Technology". Jalopnik. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- Ouellette, Jennifer (15 September 2022). "Here are the winners of the 2022 Ig Nobel Prizes". Ars Technica. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- Alaska Special. MythBusters (Television show). Discovery Channel. 2008.