Founding Researchers:

Prof. Michael "Mick" Peterson, Ph.D.

Michael “Mick” Peterson, Ph.D. is Executive Director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory and the Libra Foundation Professor for the College of Engineering at the University of Maine.  Dr. Peterson’s research links traditional understanding of engineering mechanics and materials to the biomechanics of animals.  His research emphasis is on the manner in which dynamic response can be used to characterize materials.  Mick Peterson is an affiliate faculty member in: School of Marine Sciences, Civil Engineering and the Animal and Veterinary Sciences Department at the University of Maine. He has been collaborating with the faculty in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University for more than a decade.  Over this time Dr. Peterson has developed a passion for understanding racing surfaces.  This work was started with funding provided by AQHA racing and has led to studies that now include thoroughbred, quarter horse and standard bred horse tracks as well as dog racing.  This work also has the potential to be at the center of questions regarding design, safety and maintenance of natural and synthetic racing surfaces.  Dr. Peterson has published over 50 journal articles, a book chapter, more than 150 conference proceedings and conferences papers and has received three patents.

Prof. C. Wayne McIlwraith, BVSc (DVM), PhD, FRCVS, DSc, Dr. med vet (hc), Diplomate ACVS

C. Wayne McIlwraith is a founding researcher of the racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory and a board member. Dr. McIlwraith’s research has been devoted to equine joint disease.  He is a pioneer in the use of arthroscopy in the investigation of equine joint injuries and has investigated the use of medications and biological therapies in treating bone disease in healing, the use of biomarkers to diagnose cartilage and bone damage, as well as developing the use of gene therapy and novel methods of articular cartilage repair.  Dr. McIlwraith is internationally renowned for the significance of his contributions to the field of equine orthopedics. Included among the many awards he has received are the Tierklinik Hochmoor Prize, the Winners Circle Award for Outstanding Achievements in American Quarter Horse Racing, and the John Hickman Award for Equine Orthopaedics.  A diplomate in the American and European colleges of Veterinary Surgeons, Dr. McIlwraith is a member of the International Society of Arthroscopy and Knee Surgery, Phi Zeta Veterinary Honor Society, and Veterinary Orthopedic Society.  He has authored or co-authored 10 textbooks  and numerous scientific publications.  He is on the editorial review boards of the Journal of Veterinary Surgery and the Equine Veterinary Journal. 

Staff Biographies:

Aureliano Eguren
Aureliano Eguren is a soil testing scientist with the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory. He is an agronomist with an Masters degree in Economics, Environment and Policy from the University of Wageningen. For more than 10 years he has managed a variety of agricultural enterprises in Peru and Chile. In our lab, Mr. Eguren combines his passion for horses with his knowledge of soils as agronomist to improve horse race track conditions in order to avoid injuries and improve horse performance.

Wenjin Luo
Wenjin Luo is a material research engineer and laboratory director for the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory . Luo has been working with more 40 racing tracks worldwide, including dirt tracks and most synthetic tracks in the US, to correlate the material’s chemical/mechanical properties to the performance of the tracks. He has developed and modified several testing procedures to better simulate the performance of horse racing tracks under severe weather conditions. He has been building up a racing surface material properties database in Racing Surfaces Lab to provide the tracks managements and researchers a mean to monitor the performance of the tracks historically. Luo has a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering. He has more than 15 years working experience as a Chemical R&D engineer and Mechanical/Structure engineer focusing on material chemical/mechanical properties investigations, structural analysis, and chemical process development.

Lauren Flanders
Lauren Flanders is an research assistant at the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory . She is a class of 2012 undergraduate Civil Engineering student at the University of Maine. She brings an affinity both for dirt and horses to the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory. Flanders began riding horses when she was eight and has continued to this day, learning centered riding and dressage as well as dabbling in other fields such as Natural Horsemanship and jumping. When she came to the university, she joined the Dressage Club and was elected public representative and later president. With the club, she competed in the Intercollegiate Dressage Association, giving her the chance to ride on a variety of surfaces. Flanders is excited to combine her love of engineering and horses.

Molly Segee
Molly Segee is an research assistant at the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory. She is a second year mechanical engineering student at the University of Maine. She graduated from Old Town High School in 2009 as valedictorian of her class. She has done hundreds of tests on tens of different dirt and synthetic horse tracks and has also helped to adapt standard soil tests for use by the lab.

Affiliated Researchers:

Dr. John Bridge
John Bridge is an affiliated researcher with the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory. Dr. Bridge is an Associate Professor of Engineering at Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) and Director of the MMA Materials Characterization Laboratory. His area of expertise involves the wax-coated granular composite materials used in Thoroughbred horse racetracks. He has developed synthetic surface testing procedures and has analyzed most of the synthetic racing surfaces used in North America. His goal is to better understand the thermal-mechanical hoof-surface response in order to achieve more consistent and safer surfaces for the horses and their jockeys. Dr. Bridge is a registered Professional Engineer and also a former Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Air Force with engineering and research experience that include advanced materials characterization at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, research and development of numerous aerospace systems, and operational experience with the U.S. space program on both coasts. He has been an engineering faculty member at several institutions including the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. He has published several journal articles and numerous conference proceedings involving polymeric, ceramic and metallic materials.

Christie Mahaffey
Christie Mahaffey is an affiliated researcher with the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory and a Ph.D. candidate in Interdisciplinary Engineering at the University of Maine.  Ms. Mahaffey’s work applies mechanical engineering principles to biological questions.  Her current research interests focus on the relationships between the material composition in dirt surfaces, the structural design of these surfaces, and how these factors influence horse biomechanics, with the goal of increased safety for both horses and riders.  She particularly enjoys visiting different horse facilities and meeting the people who work with the horses and surfaces.  Ms. Mahaffey is also an adjunct engineering faculty at Maine Maritime Academy.