Society of U.S. Army Flight Life Sciences and Biomedical Engineering Branch Awards Surgeons & USAAMA LSBEB A. Howard Hasbrook Awards Award John A. Plaga Theodore Lyster Award MAJ Joseph B. Eddins This award, presented to Mr. John A. Medical Evacuation Plaga, Senior Research Aerospace Engineer Proponency Directorate, Fort Rucker, AL in the USAF’s Human Systems Integration The Theodore C. Lyster Award is named Directorate of the 711th Human Performance for BG Theodore Lyster, the Father of Aviation Wing at Wright Patterson AFB, OH, recog- Medicine, who created the occupational spe- nizes an individual who has provided note- cialty of the flight surgeon, the first aeromedi- worthy data or design with respect to safety, cal research laboratory, and promulgated the survivability, or crashworthiness relevant to first military aeromedical standards while aircraft or space vehicles. It is sponsored by serving as the first Chief Surgeon of the Oregon Aero. Aviation section of the Army Signal Corps. Mr. John Plaga has made significant con- The Society of U.S. Army Flight Surgeon’s an- tributions in the fields of safety and crash- nual Theodore C. Lyster award is given to the worthiness in his career in the U.S. Air Force. flight surgeon or aeromedical physician assis- His efforts were critical LSBEB PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE--Bill tant who has made the most outstanding con- in addressing critical Ercoline (left) receives the Professional tributions toward Aviation Medicine. shortfalls in test Excellence Award from Don White (right), manikin Data Acqui- LSBEB President. sition Systems (DAS). Spurgeon Neel Award of years. It is sponsored by Eagle Applied COL Salvador P. Renteria He led the effort to Sciences. United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence, procure and qualify William (Bill) R. Ercoline, Lt. Col. (re- Fort Rucker, AL improved devices tired), USAF, has an M.S. Engineering MG Spurgeon Neel laid down the founda- which were success- Physics degree from AFIT and a Ph.D. in tion for MEDEVAC operations and was the fully tested in the U.S. Engineering Management; he has over 4,000 Army’s first aviation medical officer. He de- as well as a special se- flight hours in a variety of military and gen- signed and was the first recipient of the ries in Russia at an un- eral aviation aircraft; and 40 years of research Aviation Medical Officer badge. The Spurgeon precedented 3 week study at an altitude of in spatial disorientation countermeasures, in- Neel award is given annually to the most out- 56,000 feet at Mach 2.5 in a modified MiG-25. novative flight symbology, laser eye protec- standing operational flight surgeon or The new DAS has become the de facto stan- tion, and general aviation psychology and aeromedical physician assistant. dard for DoD ejection testing, including the manikin/DASs used to qualify the ejection physiology. He’s a former associate Aerospace Medicine Specialist of seats for the T-6 and F-22 aircraft. Professor of Physics from the USAF Mr. Plaga was also critical in providing a Academy. the Year Dr. Ercoline provides direction to RDT&E COL Samual W. Sauer method to determine the safety of various support provided to the USAF School of Program Director & Dean of Graduate Medical ejection systems by developing a comprehen- Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM). He con- Education, United States Army School of Aviation sive injury risk analysis software package sults with USAF accident investigation Medicine, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, FL that resulted in being able to analyze ejection test data in a matter of hours rather than the boards and lectures at USAFSAM. He has days previously required. This provides published many articles about the costs, Order of Aeromedical Merit causes, and countermeasures of spatial dis- (R) John P. Albano timely critical information required for the orientation, and he co-edited and co-au- Robert E. Mitchell Center for Prisoner of War program managers to make decisions con- thored with Dr. Fred Previc the textbook Studies, Naval Operational Medicine Institute, cerning test series parameters at high cost fa- “Spatial Disorientation in Aviation.” Bill lec- Naval Air Station, Pensacola, FL cilities, such as the Holloman High Speed Test Track and the Navy Supersonic Naval tures internationally on the subject of spatial Ordnance Research Track (SNORT). disorientation and serves on multi-service Mr. Plaga was also instrumental as part working groups and international organiza- of the joint USAF/USN team to define injury tions that specialize in aircrew performance criteria and assess neck injury potential dur- in high workload environments. He provides ing ejection events for the JSF program. Mr. laser eye protection research support for the Plaga was involved in analyzing all of the in- Directed Energy Branch of the Air Force jury criteria for each ejection test and work- Research Laboratory. He’s been an active ing with the team on deciding the implica- member of the Aerospace Medical tions of the results. His expertise with Association since 1985, is an Aerospace human injury criteria and analysis was also Human Factors Association (AsHFA) fellow, leveraged for other programs, such as the and has served as a journal paper reviewer Modular Aircrew Common Helmet, where and as an officer in several of the sub-organi- he helped develop the system specification. zations within AsMA. LSBEB Professional Excellence LSBEB Research and Development HALEY AWARD--The U.S. Army Aviation Award Innovation Award Medical Association recognizes the most out- William R. Ercoline Richard (Andy) McKinley standing contribution to rotary wing aeromedi- This award, presented to Dr. Richard cal literature through the Haley writing award. This award, presented to Dr. William R. (Andy) McKinley of the 711th Human John Crowley, M.D., (left) incoming president Ercoline, who currently manages operations Performance Wing at Wright Patterson AFB, of USAAMA, presents the Haley Award to for WYLE Science, Technology & is given to an individual who has demon- Steve Gaydos, M.D., M.P.H. (right). Dr. Engineering Group in San Antonio, TX, rec- strated innovative life sciences and/or Gaydos was the sole author on “Low Back ognizes an individual who has produced biomedical engineering research as related to Pain: Considerations for Rotary-Wing Air- outstanding research accomplishments or the design or development of aerospace crew,” ASEM 2012: 83:879-89. He was co- technical and/or research management medical equipment or systems. This award is author on “Ten Years of Spatial Disorientation achievements important to life sciences sponsored by the David Clark Company, Inc. in U.S. Army Rotary-Wing Operations,” ASEM and/or biomedical engineering for a number 2012; 83:739-45. See LSBEB, p. 903

902 Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine • Vol. 84, No. 8 • August 2013 LSBEB, from p. 902. Dr. Richard (Andy) McKinley’s areas of ex- pertise include innovative neuroscience, Civil Aviation human physiology, and spatial disorienta- Medical Association tion research. He has established himself as a leader in active non-invasive brain stimula- (CAMA) Annual tion and expanded his research to provide a tool for cognitive enhancement for the Air Scientific Meeting Force. His research has provided evidence that this technology can substantially pro- September 26-28, 2013 long vigilance and ac- celerate training of image analysts, both of Renaissance Orlando which have immediate implications for im- Sea World LSBEB MCFARLAND AWARD--Donald proving the Air Force White, LSBEB president, presents the 2013 Intelligence, Surveil- Ross McFarland Student Award to Capt. lance, and Reconnais- The registration form and Maggie Coppini, USAF. sance missions. He is conference program are continuing develop- 25,000 ft at a rate of 12,000 ft per minute. Her ment of this innovative study addressed the question of how onset posted to the CAMA Web research to study the effects of non-invasive rate affects physiologic response. Ten active Site: brain stimulation on procedural learning and duty USAF pilots participated and subjective visual search while beginning to elucidate symptoms and objective signs (heart rate and http://www.civilavmed.com/ the mechanisms of action with the Air Force blood oxygen saturation) were recorded. Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). In The results indicated that blood oxygen satu- fact, initial results suggest that procedural ration dropped much lower during a gradual For additional information learning may be accelerated by approxi- onset profile before the initial recognition of contact CAMA at mately 200% with this technology. Dr. hypoxia symptoms and activation of the McKinley leads the research group for emergency oxygen system. Heart rates were [email protected] AFOSR’s “BIONIC” Center of Excellence also more variable in the gradual profile than with Georgia Tech and executed a joint re- in the rapid one. Additionally, 50% of the or call 770-487-0100 search plan for cognitive enhancement that population sample experienced different supports ongoing research conducted within subjective symptoms of hypoxia between the his Division. two profiles. Given the differences in re- Dr. McKinley has also developed several sponse, Capt. Coppini recommended that a Updated News of Members models of human physiology and the effects more comprehensive hypoxia training syl- of sustained acceleration on specific cogni- labus be implemented to include both types Form Online! tive abilities. Through his Ph.D. dissertation of profiles during training for Air Force avia- research, he developed quantitative algo- tors, so they can detect hypoxia in a wider Send us news of awards, promo- rithms that tie the physiological and cogni- range of conditions and more effectively take tions, etc. tive components together. The result was a action to prevent ensuing impairment. A new online pdf form is available validated comprehensive model of pilot cog- on the Members Only page so you can nitive function based on cardiovascular and update your fellow Members on what neural physiology under high Gz stress. NOMINATE A COLLEAGUE FOR AN This model is the first of its kind and pro- AWARD! January 15 is the deadline for you’re up to. vides a major milestone in the area of accel- nominations for the 2014 meeting. The form Please remember to send us your eration research. Additionally, it provides is available on the AsMA website. e-mail address! multiple applications including Air Force mission planning, pilot training, improved adversary simulation, analysis of launch and reentry profiles, and safety analy- sis of extreme amusement rides. LSBEB Ross McFarland Student Award Maggie Coppini

This award is given to the author of the best student research paper accepted by the AsMA Scientific Program Committee that re- ports on a significant achievement in biomedical engineering. There are no nomi- nations for this award. The best abstract from those submitted by students each year is selected by a committee who rate the sci- entific merit, clarity of presentation, applica- tion of the findings, and scope of interest in JIM LOVELL WITH THE SOCIETY OF NASA FLIGHT SURGEONS--Jim Lovell, center, is most research outcome. The McFarland Award is famous as the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which suffered a critical failure en route to sponsored by Gentex Corporation. the Moon, but was brought back safely to Earth by the efforts of the crew and mission control. The 2013 winner is Capt. Maggie Lovell was also the command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first Apollo mission to enter lunar Coppini, USAF, for "Hypoxia symptoms and orbit. Lovell is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Presidential recognition as a function of hypoxia onset Medal of Freedom. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, the first of only 3 rate." Current normobaric aviator hypoxia people to fly to the Moon twice, and the only one to have flown there twice without making a training involves the use of a Reduced landing. Lovell was also the first person to fly in space four times [information courtesy of Oxygen Breathing Device to simulated alti- Wikipedia]. He is pictured with members of the Society of NASA Flight Surgeons after providing tude exposures climbing from 8,000 ft to the luncheon lecture at the AsMA 84th Annual Scientific Meeting.

Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine • Vol. 84, No. 8 • August 2013 903