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Sicking earns national technology medal Dean Sicking
Sicking is a recipient of the National Medal of Technology, the highest honor the U.S. president bestows on America's leading innovators. President George Bush was scheduled to present Sicking and the other medal winners with their awards at a Presidential Awards Ceremony July 27. The White House ceremony was part of a day of events honoring the 2005 and 2006 winners of the National Medals of Technology and Science. Sicking is one of nine individuals, teams and companies named National Medal of Technology laureates for 2005. This award is given for outstanding contributions to the nation's economic, environmental and social well-being through technology development and commercialization. Established by an act of Congress in 1980, the National Medal of Technology was first awarded in 1985. Sicking holds the Leonard A. Lovell Professorship in civil engineering and is director of the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at UNL. His innovative guard rail terminals and other innovative roadside safety technologies are used in every state in the U.S., where they prevent fatalities and injuries for travelers on the nation's highways. Sicking invented the first energy-absorbing guard rail terminal as well as subsequent generations of terminals. They are installed on virtually every high-speed, high-volume roadway in the U.S. It's estimated these guard rail terminal systems prevent more than 150 fatalities annually. Sicking's research on energy-absorbing guard rails led to development of the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) Barrier, which won a 2003 R&D 100 Award, a top technology honor. The SAFER barrier absorbs energy to reduce the crash's impact and then distributes energy over the wall without forcing the vehicle back into traffic. This "soft wall" has been installed at NASCAR and Indy Racing League high-speed tracks. No driver has been killed when they hit the SAFER Barrier since its introduction in 2002, and it has greatly reduced serious injuries. Sicking holds more than 25 patents for his roadside safety inventions, but what drives him back to the test track is the chance to make roads safer.    | |
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