Our Team

Biokinetics and Associates Ltd. comprises a multidisciplinary team of skilled biomechanical , biomedical and mechanical engineers and technologists. Together we bring together a wealth of experience related to complex research and development programs, laboratory experiments and routine testing associated with human protection systems. We contribute regularly to standards bodies and working groups within the scientific community and have published numerous peer-reviewed papers related to injury biomechanics and prevention. Our engineers are named on numerous patents and intellectual property documents achieved on behalf of our clients.

We pride ourselves on providing quality, confidential and timely service to our valued clients. Our work principle is simple: provide expert consultation to high standards with excellent value.

Nicholas Shewchenko (P. Eng.)

President

Has contributed to the defence, sports, and vehicle injury biomechanics area for 39 years. Nicholas is involved in the characterization and assessment of real-world injuries with the development of testing, evaluation, analysis and protection methods. His contributions to standards writing, test protocols, injury risk assessment methods, safety product technology evaluations and scientific presentations have resulted in a greater understanding of injury mitigation and controls. Nicholas has over 50 published technical papers, is named on 18 safety related patents, and has actively contributed to several standards groups related to personal protection systems.

Ed Fournier (P. Eng.)

Head - Defence Research

Has 35 years of R&D experience advancing protective systems against ballistic, blast and impact threats in the military, sports and transportation areas. Significant improvements were made to a variety of helmets for soldiers, aircrew, firefighters, law enforcement and team sports. He is uniquely qualified in measurement systems, data acquisition and the analysis of complex biomechanical systems whether it is in the laboratory, HyGe sled, full-scale vehicle crash or blast testing environments. He has over 20 technical publications including advanced surrogate headforms (rotational kinematics, BABT, blast injuries, oral/facial trauma), blast lower leg development, motorcycle crash dummy, ballistic yaw sensing and fuel tank integrity.

Chris Withnall (P. Eng.)

Head - Sports Injury Biomechanics

Has contributed his extensive experience in injury biomechanics to the sports, military/law enforcement and transportation markets for over 33 years. His several years of NFL research on concussion risks has motivated advanced helmet designs and the assessment of protective mouth guards. He has designed helmets for football, firefighting, riot police, bicycle, hockey and military applications as well as other human protection systems. Advances in injury biomechanics research have been made related to head impact safety (football, soccer, bicycling, auto racing, law enforcement), riot police bodily injury, and ballistic armour degradation. Chris has authored 25 peer reviewed articles and actively contributes to the Canadian Standards Association and American Society for Testing and Materials. He is co-inventor on 18 patents related to helmet designs.

Doug Baines (C.Tech)

Chief - Ballistics Services

Provides over 30 years’ experience in conducting and managing testing and evaluation programs for bodily protection systems against military and law enforcement threats including ballistics, fragmentation, stab and less-lethal kinetic ammunition. Doug has extensive experience working with human surrogates and instrumentation for the evaluation of materials and product performance under ballistic and impact conditions, helping research agencies and manufacturers advance their protective solutions. He is committed to the scientific method and ISO quality principles.

Tim Bayne (P. Eng.)

Manager - Product Development

Excels in product design, test and measurement systems, specialized human surrogates, test fixtures and the development of test protocols applied to the sports, military, and transportation industries. Tim’s expertise in computer modelling and impeccable sense for mechanical design have resulted in advanced test devices for improving the understanding of behind armour blunt trauma for helmets (Ballistic Load Sensing Headform), for ballistic torso protection (Blunt Trauma Torso Rig) and the Linear Impactor used to replicate real-world football helmet impacts for concussion research. He has been instrumental in the development of several innovative helmets for sports, transportation and military uses and is a co-inventor on over 10 patents.

Michael Wonnacott (P. Eng.)

Project Engineer - Impact Biomechanics

Contributes to numerous experimental studies involving concussion research in American football and hockey. He has developed test protocols, surrogates, custom sensors and data collection systems during his 20 years at Biokinetics. Michael’s expertise in mechanical design was instrumental in the creating the Mandible Load Sensing Headform (MLSH) for assessing mouthguard effectiveness in mitigating concussions and for blunt trauma related to mandible protectors on combat helmets.

Stéphane Magnan (P. Eng.)

Project Engineer - Injury Biomechanics

Has extensive analytical skills that advance the understanding of impact and ballistic interactions with personal protective equipment including helmets and ballistic resistant plates. With an academic background in the analysis of exoskeletons, prosthetic limbs and the co-development of a high-speed X-ray system for head injury biomechanics, he has since implemented, at Biokinetics, novel computer modelling and machine learning techniques, advanced data acquisition and workflow software development, developed statistical survival analysis methods, and improved experimental design. He has also implemented brain injury models for football concussion analysis, enhanced the BABT injury risk assessment capabilities of the BTTR, optimized ballistics testing workflow and data management, the statistical analysis of ballistics armour performance data, and the characterization of measurement uncertainty in complex sensor applications, with publications at international technical conferences.

Terry Rohachuk

Technician – Ballistics

Has over 13 years of ballistics testing and product evaluation experience at Biokinetics’ with a focus on ballistics armour testing and evaluation, technology evaluations and weapons effects. Terry carries out ballistic testing of composites, ceramics, transparent armour, and ballistic fabrics found in helmets, vests, plates, vehicles and structures to international government and industrial standards and protocols. He is committed to scientific principles and ISO quality management practices.