Thomas Hartka, MD
The Department of Emergency Medicine is proud to announce that Thomas Hartka, MD, an associate professor of emergency medicine and mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Virginia, has been inducted as a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM).
Fellowship in AAAM represents one of the highest honors in the field of automotive safety and injury biomechanics. It recognizes individuals who have made exceptional and sustained contributions to advancing traffic injury prevention, clinical care, and crash injury research. AAAM inducts only one new Fellow each year from its worldwide membership, reflecting the distinction of this recognition.
Dr. Hartka has been an active member of AAAM for many years and currently serves on the AAAM Board of Directors and as vice-chair of the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) Committee, where he contributes to the development and refinement of the AIS—the global standard for coding and classifying injury severity. His research bridges emergency medicine, biomechanics, and data science, with a focus on quantifying injury patterns, improving trauma severity assessment, and developing computational tools that enhance emergency care and automotive safety.
Congratulations to Dr. Hartka on this prestigious recognition of his leadership and impact in the field of injury science.
Filed Under: Honors & Awards