Two undergraduate engineering students at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have designed and tested a new kind of whitewater sports helmet, one aimed at helping to prevent life-threatening injuries.

Michael Cordeiro, 21, a senior mechanical engineering major from Easton, Md., and Chang Lee, 22, a dual major of biomedical engineering and engineering mechanics from Atlanta, undertook the project as part of the Department of Mechanical Engineering's Senior Design Project. The undergraduates were asked to study head injuries that occurred in whitewater sports and to design a helmet that would better absorb shocks and prevent injuries.

Having designed and fabricated their new helmet, Cordeiro and Lee recently put the helmet through tests to simulate the kind of rough water that people would experience while rafting or kayaking--and a video was made of their work. Watch as they put the helmet through its paces and describe how they designed the new helmet.

Watch the video in Real format. (Real Networks offers a free version of their player, if your computer doesn't have it. Newer computers come bundled with this player, but those with older computers may need to download the player. If you have any trouble at all, please e-mail: media@jhu.edu)

For more information about the project, see this news release.