Jacobs Supports STEM Research Project on Sports Safety

Source: Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. May 21, 2013 : PASADENA, CALIF. - Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) announced today that, together with Texas Medical Center's National Center for Human Performance (TNCHP), it is participating in a research study designed to evaluate and enhance safety factors affecting youth athletes. The Jacobs-sponsored study was conducted through a Jacobs Space Act Agreement with the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC), and involved the evaluation of various means for reducing the momentum transferred by a soccer ball to the head of a youth soccer player. Students from Rice University and The Kinkaid School (both located in Houston, Texas) were involved in the study as part of a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) internship program. Jacobs personnel worked with TNCHP to set up experiments in the NASA JSC Vibration & Acoustic Test Facility; operating the test facility equipment and helping the students acquire the necessary data. In making the announcement, Jacobs Group Vice President Terry Hagen said, "We are very pleased to sponsor The National Center for Human Performance and to be instrumental in these studies focusing on youth sports safety. Jacobs is committed to providing STEM educational opportunities and to investing in activities and education programs that interest students in the possibilities of future careers in our industry." "Athletics provide opportunities for young people to prepare for real life by learning to deal with adversity, work with others toward a common goal, overcome obstacles, fail, be defeated, and to win," said Texas Medical Center President and Chief Executive Officer Robert C. Robbins, M.D. "That being said, at least one in 15 of all youth sports participants goes to the emergency room each year for a sports injury. I believe this research is critical in finding answers and solutions for injury prevention." TNCHP's mission is to maintain and enhance human performance in the arts, sports, space exploration, the military, and the general public, through appropriate applications of research and education in medicine and related sciences. Jacobs provides engineering, scientific, and technical services to the Engineering and Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorates at NASA JSC.