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Marvin Hatchett: A Smart Person who Works with Dummies
M
arvin Hatchett spends his days
surrounded by dummies. Yet, he
enjoys every moment. That’s because
this 1984 ECPI graduate is the Dummy
Calibration Lab Manager at the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Yes,
Marvin Hatchett crashes cars for a living.
He does so with a single goal in mind: to
save as many lives as possible.
At his lab in Ruckersville, Virginia, he
prepares crash dummies for a variety
of collisions. It’s critically important
that each dummy is calibrated to near
perfection to ensure consistent results
and reliable comparative data for other
researchers doing similar work.
While his co-workers may be short on
conversation, they tell him a great deal.
Each one has up to 40 different sensors,
and range in size from that of a six month-
old infant to a fully-grown man. Data
collected during each collision allows the
IIHS to provide feedback to carmakers
and warnings to consumers. At nearly
$200,000 a piece, this information does
not come cheap, but it is, nonetheless,
invaluable.
“Knowing the impact that we have on
the world, that we’re saving lives…it’s
very rewarding,” says Marvin. “When we
identify a problem, we always try to work
directly with automaker. Sure, we can
issue a warning to consumers, but we
also want to help the manufacturer make
changes to improve a vehicle’s safety.
“On one occasion, we tested a mini-
van and the results were just terrible. It
collapsed on the dummy and pinned it in,
forcing us to pry it loose with hydraulic
machinery. We immediately shared
the results with the automaker, and the
company made extensive changes. That
mini-van went on to become a top safety
pick. It’s hard to overstate the level of
satisfaction you receive when something
like that happens.”
Marvin has spent years developing
his skills and has had a number of
professional experiences prior to joining
the Institute. Still, he says it all began at
ECPI. “It was a great learning experience,”
says Marvin. “It set the foundation to
do what I enjoy doing. Understanding
electronics and how things work and
helped prepare me to explore that world.
The faculty was very concerned with the
individual student. They really strived
to reach out to meet the needs of each
person. It was just a great atmosphere to
be in and study in.”
H
e may teach Mathematics, but Dr.
Andrew Feist has earned his place
in history. In this case, the History Bowl.
Dr. Feist created a web-based system for
the National History Bowl that allowed for
real-time reporting of scores from games
at a dozen historical and cultural sites
throughout Washington DC.
The system provided teams with up-
to-date standings and location
information for all of the games,
eliminating the need for teams to
“check in” at a central site to find
their next location. It also allowed
tournament headquarters to track
the progress of various off-site
matches and quickly determine
playoff contenders, needed tie-
breakers, etc.
Dr. Andrew Feist Provides
Statistical Support for
National History Bowl