Werner Goldsmith, 79; Expert on Collisions and Head Injuries

Werner Goldsmith, 79, UC Berkeley professor of mechanical engineering and an expert on the biomechanics of head and neck injuries, died Aug. 23 in his Oakland home after a brief illness.

Goldsmith was internationally known for his studies of automobile collisions, physical abuse and other causes of brain and neck trauma. He served as a consultant in several high-profile cases, including the two Los Angeles County trials stemming from the beating of Rodney King. Personal injury cases in which he served as expert witness ranged from those involving automobile accidents to football mishaps.

As a registered mechanical and safety engineer for the state of California, Goldsmith was often consulted on the effectiveness of helmets for sports and military use. He was also an expert on shaken baby syndrome and at the time of his death was working on a scholarly paper, “Brain Injury in Infants and Children.”

Born in Dusseldorf, Germany, Goldsmith came to the U.S. in his teens and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Texas in 1945, the same year he became a U.S. citizen. After two years as an engineer for Westinghouse, he joined the Berkeley faculty in 1947, teaching while earning his doctorate. In 1960, Goldsmith published the landmark monograph “Impact: The Theory and Physical Behaviour of Colliding Solids,” the first textbook to systematize the mechanics of collision. Reprinted in 1998, it remains the top textbook in the field.