Gregory Batt

Professor
Director of the Sonoco Package Testing Laboratory
Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences Department

Office: 228 P&A Center
Phone: 864-723-0740
Fax: 864-656-0331

Email: gbatt@clemson.edu

Educational Background

Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering
Clemson University 2013

M.S. Packaging Science
Clemson University 2003

B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Universtiy of Massachusetts 1994

Courses Taught

PKSC 4040 Mechanical Properties of Packaging
PKSC 4541 Product and Package Evaluation Laboratory
PKSC 4210 Special Problems in Packaging Science
PKSC 4400 Distribution Packaging
PKSC 4991 Creative Inquiry
PKSC 3201 Package Design Fundamentals

Profile

Originally a Product Design Manager for whitewater kayaks at Perception Kayaks USA, I began my work at Clemson University in 2001 as a Laboratory Technologist. I progressed through the ranks at Clemson serving as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Instructor, and currently as an Assistant Professor. I serve as the Director of the Package Testing Laboratory which supports undergraduate labs, graduate student research, and industry service projects. Externally, I serve as the Chair of the Technical Division at the International Safe Transit Association and hold a seat on their Global Board of Directors. I am a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Packaging Science and Technology and serve as reviewer for several packaging related journals.

Research Interests

My early publications addressed the need within the packaging design industry for a method of cushion material performance characterization that enabled performance prediction with a minimal amount of laboratory testing and enabled prediction of material performance at various thicknesses and drop heights not tested. Current industry standards require thousands of impacts to generate a usable set of cushion curves while the technique developed and optimized through this collection of work significantly reduced the required testing to less than one hundred impacts. In addition, the technique enabled the accurate prediction of cushion material shock performance at thicknesses and drop heights other than the specific conditioned tested. This greatly improved the usefulness of the data generated.

My more recent work has been focused on the development, experimental identification, and validation of various analytical and numerical models capturing the vibration response of a mass loaded expanded cushion material. The models account for the nonlinear and viscoelastic nature of these materials. A model was developed from constitutive relations, an experimental identification technique was developed to identify the model parameters, and the complete model was experimentally validated in its ability to predict foam material vibration behavior. This tool will be helpful to packaging system designers and material suppliers in optimizing a particular design and in the development of new materials.

My most recent research work has been split between formal packaging science and the application of packaging dynamics in Bioengineering. In packaging science, I recently published work in which we focused on the development of methods of measuring the multiaxis vibration of trucks in transit, the proper selection of packaging materials to minimize damage and reduce cost and environmental impact of shipping peaches direct to consumers, and characterization of the compressive forces supported by corrugated boxes at varying relative humidities. In my collaborative work with Bioengineering, we have published work in the development of a non-destructive method of evaluating football facemasks, finite element validation of football facemask models, development of parametric design methods for football facemask comparison, development of a method for evaluating rodeo helmet performance, comparative analysis of anthropometric necks, the effect of various neck anthropometric test devices on quasi-static and dynamic loading response to football head impacts, and the development of an inverted head form system for pneumatic linear impact helmet testing.

Publications

• Cardinal, M., Marino, A., Batt, G., DesJardins, J*, “Development and Validation of Inverted Head Form Orientation for Helmet Testing Using a Pneumatic Linear Impact System”, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology, November 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/17543371241309998
• Marino, A.P., Jesunathadas, M., Landry, T., Piland, SG., DesJardins, J.D., Batt, G.S.*, “Comparison of dynamic performance of Jasti and Humanetics neckforms with an inter-lab validation”, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology, January 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/17543371241312829
• Marino, A.P., Cardinal, M.D., Garrison, A., Batt, G.S., DesJardins, J.D.*, “Effects of varied stiffness and design asymmetry of neck anthropometric test devices on quasi-static and dynamic loading response to football head impacts”, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology, March 2025. Https://doi.org/10.1177/17543371251322217
• Henline BJ, Cardinal MD., Gruber K, Ferriell, WD., Wright, NP., DesJardins, JD., Batt, GS.*, Development of a method for the impact performance characterization of commonly worn helmets in rodeo bull-riding. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology, November 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/17543371241293180
• Lytle, B., Batt, G., Hurley, R.A., Gasic, K., “The effect of packaging types on fresh peaches in the direct-to-consumer distribution environment”, Packaging Technology and Science. April 2024. https://doi.org/10.1002/pts.2811
• Brown, G., Batt, G.S., Darby, D., Daum, M., “Relative Humidity and Absolute Moisture Content effects on the compression strength of corrugated boxes” Journal of Testing and Evaluation. November 2023. https://doi.org/10.1520/JTE20230186
• Ferriell, W.D., Wright, N.P., DesJardins, J.D., Batt, G.S., “Parametric design methods for development for the comparison of American football faceguards using validated structural stiffness models”, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology. January 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/17543371221140674
• Ferriell, W.D., Batt, G.S., DesJardins, J.D., “Finite element validation of 3D American football faceguard structural stiffness models”, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology. December 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754337120978041
• Cocchiola, G.J., Joodaky, A., Batt, G.S., Gibert, J.M., “The effect of coplanar sensor spacing on determining the angular acceleration of vehicles”, Packaging Technology and Science. December 2019. https://doi.org/10.1002/pts.2488
• Joodaky, A., Batt, G.S., Gibert, J.M., “Prediction of cushion curves of polymer foams using a nonlinear distributed parameter model”, Packaging Technology and Science. November 2019. https://doi.org/10.1002/pts.2473

Links