Football Helmet: Head to Ground Test Device; Teaching Union Influence on US Education Policy 163 views

Traditional education in the United States consists of two experiential domains: curriculum and extracurricular activities. The two are intended to complement each other—one emphasizing reasoning and learning, the other emphasizing the development of social and personal capacities. A system for simulating linear-rotational head-to-ground impacts in football was developed. The system aims to reduce injuries by designing and testing a device focused on repeatability, affordability, and variability.. Due to budgetary and time constraints, the final deliverable is a scale model supported by theoretical projections for full-scale implementation. Key findings include the precision advantages of using gravity as an energy source and the necessity of mass testing to account for the inherent variability of rotational impacts. Experimental data supports the hypothesis that a simple track design can achieve target impact parameters consistent with NFL data. Since the 1970s, US teachers’ unions have advanced their members' employment interests in ways that have had controversial implications for education. The study finds that teachers’ unions have leveraged political action—ranging from grassroots organizing to national advocacy—to become a central force in shaping educational policy. It challenges claims that charter schools yield superior student outcomes and concludes that funding per student remains the decisive factor in academic achievement, outweighing ideological considerations.

BS (Bachelor of Science)

Helmet Impact; Rotational Impact Simulation; Education Policy; Teaching Union Policy

School of Engineering and Applied Science Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technical Advisor: Richard Kent STS Advisor: Peter Norton Technical Team Members: Aidan Connor, Lauren Gagermeier, William Moeller, Binh Nguyen, Sam Suppes, Tristan Witz, Max Wooten

English

2025-12-12