Thomas R. Hartka

Thomas R. Hartka is an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, with a courtesy appointment in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He serves as Vice-Chair of Research for Emergency Medicine and Assistant Medical Director at the UVA Center for Applied Biomechanics. His clinical expertise includes Emergency Medicine, and he actively participates in medical student and resident education.

Dr. Hartka holds a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech, where his graduate research focused on structural optimization using cellular automata on reconfigurable hardware. He completed a premedical post-baccalaureate program at Johns Hopkins University and conducted pediatric neurology research at DC Children’s Hospital, specifically on Alexander Disease phenotyping. After earning his M.D. from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, he completed an Emergency Medicine residency and a Trauma Research Fellowship at the UVA Center for Applied Biomechanics.

His research integrates biomechanical engineering principles with clinical practice, emphasizing trauma analysis, vehicle collision dynamics, and medical device development. His work bridges computational modeling and clinical emergency care, with applications in injury prevention and medical education.

Dr. Hartka maintains dual affiliations across medicine and engineering, reflecting his interdisciplinary approach to solving complex clinical problems through technological innovation.