Contributions
Introduced the concept of Solving the Total Problem which has become the trademark of the NCAC. Many
universities and research organizations in this field focus their research on addressing a specific aspect of a
problem. Dr. Bedewi’s total problem concept recognizes that an accident involves the vehicle, the occupant, and the
highway, and therefore the researchers must address the biomechanics of injury, the structure of the car, the
mechanics of the safety restraint systems (air bags, seat belts, etc.), and the structure and mechanics of roadside
hardware. This concept also requires the use of all available tools including computer simulation, crash testing, and
real accident data.

Brought the use of physics-based computer simulation in highway and automotive crash modeling to a higher level.
Following the concept of Solving the Total Problem, the NCAC has learned to simulate complex car crashes
involving occupants, restraint systems, the vehicle, and roadside hardware structures. This technology is now being
demonstrated and utilized by the NCAC in other related fields such as physical security, aviation, rail, and large
trucks.

Accelerated the introduction of parallel computing into the automotive and highway safety field by 5-7 years. After the
pioneering research at the NCAC, which began in 1993, today all the major auto manufacturers worldwide utilize
parallel computing in their crash simulation groups. This is saving millions of dollars in development costs and is
leading to safer cars. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is also conducting most of its crash simulation
research on parallel machines today by directly funding the NCAC, Volpe Research Center, and other universities
trained by the NCAC. Dr. Bedewi’s contribution and expertise were recognized in 1996 during his keynote address at
the International Conference on High Performance Computing in Automotive Design, Engineering, and
Manufacturing in Paris, France, and in 1997, when he received the Smithsonian Institution Leaders in Computer
Technology Award.

Pioneered the concept and methodology for digitally reverse engineering cars and trucks for developing
sophisticated nonlinear finite element models. This has accelerated researchers’ ability to study future safety
design concepts, and in the case of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to conduct studies
of vehicle compatibility which will save thousands of lives in the future. The Vehicle Digitization Laboratory developed
first at GW in 1993 has now been duplicated in several universities and research laboratories, and the methodology
published extensively by Dr. Bedewi and his team is now the standard.

Devoted a great deal of his time and NCAC resources to aid the FHWA in addressing physical security problems on
behalf of the US Department of State and the US Secret Service. The work carried out at the NCAC led to the rapid
development of anti-ram barriers for the protection of the White House and US embassies worldwide at a fraction of
the time and cost of traditional design methods. Thus, in addition to the hundreds of lives that are saved on
highways because of this research, Dr. Bedewi has also advanced the potential for life savings and infrastructure
protection in our fight against terrorism.

Brought his vision and creativity to enhance the capabilities and quality of DOT’s FOIL crash test facility. While the
facility was outdated and was on the verge of being eliminated, Dr. Bedewi provided a cost effective solution to
upgrading the propulsion, data collection, and camera systems to the state-of-the-art level. Since then, the facility
was able to execute full scale crash tests not possible in the past including the verification of anti-ram barriers for
the State Department and US Secret Service. This effort has saved the government millions of dollars in research
and development.

Engaged in fundamental research in certain areas to build up solutions to the complex safety problems. For
example, the fracture model which was developed through a doctoral dissertation in the NCAC and incorporated in
the crash codes is allowing the solution of highway problems involving brittle metal failure as well as occupant
problems involving bone fracture. Other projects include gas dynamics modeling for air bag deployment, muscle
and brain modeling, spot weld failure model techniques for vehicle structures, and computational aspects of finite
element analysis.

Introduced the application of Neural Networks for obtaining estimated solutions for large crash problems in a matter
of seconds versus the current methods that require 3-7 days on supercomputers. This ongoing research holds
great promise for solving problems that would otherwise require thousands of computer runs, a task that is
impossible with today’s methods.

Expanded the knowledge base of this emerging field by creating the Masters and Doctoral degree programs at GW
in Transportation Safety Engineering. The students trained in this program are now experts in this new field of
engineering, and are highly sought after by government, industry, and academia. Until he left GW, this graduate
degree program remained the only one of its kind worldwide.

Bridged the gap between government, industry, and academia through specific projects and activities at the NCAC.
An example is the project titled “Software/Hardware Standardization, Validation, and Benchmarking of Commercial
Crash Codes at the NCAC" which was jointly funded by the FHWA, NHTSA, and the US auto manufacturers, and
involved participation by the commercial software and hardware suppliers.