About this event
Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC) is a recognized leader in developmental and production tire testing for both commercial and military vehicle platforms, supported by a dedicated tire testing division. A long-time supporter of the ISTVS conference, NATC will present a talk focused on the critical mobility factors that influence ground vehicle performance.
Hosted by
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Guest speaker
Robert Hodges Chief Technical Officer @ NATC - Nevada Automotive Test CenterG
Robert “Bobby” Hodges is the Chief Technical Officer at the Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC) in Silver Springs, NV, where he leads seven engineering groups delivering technical solutions for commercial and government ground vehicle programs. A third-generation owner, he assumed oversight of NATC in 2021 alongside his sisters, continuing the company’s legacy while adapting to evolving industry needs.
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Team member
Varsha SwamyT
Varsha S. Swamy is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, under the guidance of Dr. Corina Sandu and Dr. Alba Yerro-Colom. Her Ph.D. research deals with the numerical modeling and experimental validation of tire-mud interactions, supported by the Automotive Research Center, a university-based U.S. Army Center of Excellence for modeling and simulation of military and civilian ground systems. Additionally, she received the SMART scholarship from the DoD and works with U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
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Guest speaker
George MasonG
Dr. George Mason worked for 33 years as a research engineer in the Mobility Systems Branch, Engineering Systems and Materials Division, Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory, as the Army’s lead researcher for studies on vehicle mobility. Later, he joined the Center for Advanced Vehicle Systems (CAVS) at Mississippi State University as a Research Civil Engineer. His work in mobility research was related to military areas, encompassing geospatial analyses, discrete element modeling of soils, and investigating vehicle/terrain interaction. The research required the application of advanced theories of soil physics and soil mechanics to quantify complex physical phenomena associated with the science and engineering of off-road vehicle mobility and the study of changes in associated surface geology.
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Team member
Lutz Richter Vice PresidentT
ISTVS
ISTVS is an international organization that focuses on advancing the knowledge in terrain vehicle systems for improvements in engineering practice and innovation. They promote the transfer of advanced knowledge to the user for the benefit of society in...
