Dr. Charles H. Miller Award
Dr. Charles H. Miller spent much of his academic career furthering the interests of road safety, and was instrumental in establishing CMRSC. It is perhaps fitting, therefore, that his contribution as a "founding father" of our conference be recognized in the form of such an award. The following biography provides some insight as to why our Association believes that it is appropriate to recognize Charlie's contributions to traffic safety in this manner.
Charles Miller was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on June 2, 1926. He graduated from St. Mary's University in 1945, and received a B.Eng. (Mechanical) from the Nova Scotia Technical College in 1947.
Charlie worked in the aerospace industry for about nine years before returning to do graduate work at the University of Toronto. His post-graduate degrees were: a Masters of Applied Science, with a thesis entitled Two Dimensional Transient Thermal Conduction, and a Doctorate of Philosophy, for research on the Magnetoplasmadynamics of a Rotary Arc Plasma Generator.
While with Oranda Engines Ltd., Charlie was responsible for testing and development of bearings, seals, and other high-speed components for gas turbine engines. As Head of the Aerodynamics Turbine Section, he was responsible for much of the early work on the RCAF Sabre-VI and CF-100 aircraft.
In 1965, Charlie returned to his alma mater, the Nova Scotia Technical College, as a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The college became the Technical University of Nova Scotia, and is now part of Dalhousie University. He worked in Mechanical Engineering continuously until his retirement in 1986 when he was appointed an Adjunct Research Professor.
In 1973, in response to an invitation from Transport Canada, Charlie established the Vehicle Safety Research Team at Nova Scotia Tech as part of a nation-wide initiative to conduct research into vehicle crashes. The objective of this research then, as now, was to assess the adequacy of safety standards for the vehicles on Canada's roadways and to provide scientifically valid information upon which enhanced safety standards could be developed and implemented.
As the Team's Coordinator, Charlie worked tirelessly to promote all aspects of road safety. He was recognized in the gallery of the Legislature of Nova Scotia for his leadership in establishing Nova Scotia's ground breaking seat belt legislation.
Charlie always relied on "the fundamentals", when confronting a problem, regardless of its complexity. This common sense approach earned him the admiration and respect of his students and his peers.
Most importantly, he was a wonderful human being.
Dale Faulkner
Dalhousie University
May, 2000
Previous winners of the Dr. Charles H. Miller Award
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2022
The Cost of Transport Injuries in Canada
Cowle, Rajabali, Pike, Fuselli
Dr. Charles H. Miller Award -
2019
Predicting Crashes with Safe Systems Surrogates Obtained from Video Analytics’ Implications for Evaluation of Vision Zero Safety Treatments
Jafari Anarkooli, Milligan, Penner, Persaud, Saleem
Student Paper Competition: 2nd Place | Dr. Charles H. Miller Award -
2018
The Impact of Childhood Symptoms of Conduct Disorder on Collision Risk
Wickens, Mann, Ialomiteanu, Vingilis, Seeley, Erickson, Kolla
Dr. Charles H. Miller Award -
2017
Evaluation of the Safety Effectiveness of Ontario’s Speed Limiter Legislation for Large Trucks
Sarah C. Plonka, Patrick A. Byrne, Tracey Ma, Erin Dessau
Dr. Charles H. Miller Award -
2016
Should we be aiming to engage drivers more with others on-road? Driving moral disengagement and self-reported driving aggression
Jasmine Cleary, Alexia Lennon, Alison Swann
Dr. Charles H. Miller Award -
2015
The Impact of Childhood Symptoms of Conduct Disorder on Driving after Drinking in Adulthood
Christine M. Wickens, Robert E. Mann, Evelyn Vingilis, Anca Ialomiteanu, Patricia Erickson, Maggie E. Toplak, Nathan Kolla, Gina Stoduto, Mark van der Maas
Dr. Charles H. Miller Award -
2014
Analysis of Pedestrian Safety Performance at Signalized Intersections in Costa Rica
Rebecca Peterniak, Jeannette Montufar
Dr. Charles H. Miller Award -
2014
Street Racing: Content Analysis of Coverage and Framing by Canadian Newspapers
Deanne Daigle, Jane Seeley, Evelyn Vingilis
Dr. Charles H. Miller Award
2001-2013
- 2013
Trauma and protection of motorcyclist cervical spine in road accident Dominique Boisclair, Jingchao Sun, Pierre-Jean Arnoux, Yvan Petit, Carl-Éric Aubin, Alban Rojas, Reinhard Kraenzler - 2012
Drugs and Driving Framework Brian Jonah - 2012
Aging School Bus Drivers: Is Mandatory Retirement Appropriate? Eric Hildebrand - 2011
Motorist’s Attitudes to Speed Limits in Australia Brian Fildes, Julie Lahausse, Jim Langford, Michael Keall, Nicole van Ness - 2010
Effects of age and cognitive workload on lane choice and lane changing behavior Martin Lavallière, Birsen Donmez, Bryan Reimer, Bruce Mehler, Kameron Klauber, Jarrod Orszulak, Joseph F. Coughlin, Normand Teasdale - 2009
Drug and Alcohol Use among Drivers: Findings from the British Columbia Roadside Survey 2008 Erin Beasley, Douglas J. Beirness - 2008
The Accuracy and Reliability of Evaluations by Drug Recognition Experts in Canada Douglas J. Beirness, Erin Beasley, Jacques LeCavalier - 2007
(Français) Traumatologie virtuelle du membre pelvien lors d’un choc piéton - vers un critère de blessures du genou ligamentaires P.J. Arnoux, M. Behr, L. Thollon, C. Brunet - 2006
Effectiveness of In-Vehicle Moose Warning Modalities, an Experimental Study Abdelsalam W, Desroches P, Famewo J, Nonnecke B, Varden A - 2005
Evaluation of Commercial Vehicles Pre-Trip Inspections Conducted in Quebec Olivier Bellavigna-Ladoux, Michel Gou - 2004
Speech-based Interfaces for Use While Driving: The Impact of Email Speech Output S. Lalande, J.L. Harbluk - 2003
Reported Consumption and Presence of Alcohol and Drugs in Québec Drivers Bouchard J, Brault M - 2001
The Use of Event Data Recorders in the Analysis of Real-World Crashes German A, Comeau J-L, Monk B, McClafferty K, Tiessen P, Chan J