James A. Sherwood is Director of the Baseball Research Center, Co-Director of the Advanced Composite Materials and Textile Research Lab and Co-Director of the Center for Electric Car and Energy Conversion in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Sherwood holds a B.S. in Engineering Science (1976), an M.S. in Applied Mechanics, (1977), and a Ph. D. in Aerospace Engineering & Engineering Mechanics (1987), all from the University of Cincinnati.

Dr. Sherwood's research interests lie in the field of constitutive modeling, mechanical behavior of materials with emphasis on composites, finite element methods with emphasis on high speed impact, and innovative teaching methods in engineering education. His most recent works include crash modeling for the Solectria Sunrise All-Composite Electric Car and the modeling and experimental investigation of the bat/ball impacts for Major League Baseball and the NCAA.

Presently, Dr. Sherwood is pursuing funding to establish an independent test center for evaluating the performance of baseball bats. It is anticipated that this facility will expand to be a test center for investigating the structural performance of safety equipment associated with baseball and to be the official test center for Major League Baseball.