Undergraduate Research Opportunities

The overall research goal of the lab is to better understand how sensory feedback affects biomechanics, energetics and performance during human locomotion. We focus specifically on interactions between sensory feedback, neuromuscular control, movement dynamics, metabolic cost and performance.

I’m inviting students from ALL backgrounds with a passion for human movement to reach out and inquire about joining the lab, particularly freshmen and sophomores.

We currently have a mixture of sophomore, junior and senior students in Kinesiology, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science. Some activities undergrad students are involved with:

1) Helping with data collections for our footwear industry partners

2) Analyzing biomechanical and metabolic data in Excel, Qualisys Track Manager, Matlab or Python

3) Reanalyzing data from existing literature on running performance to better model running performance

4a) Designing probs and procedures we use to evaluate mechanical properties of footwear

4b) Performing their own study on walking or running biomechanics, energetics or neural control

Undergraduates that join the lab early on often start with 1 and make it all the way to 4 (a or b, depending on their interest).

Current topics of interest:

• Footwear, treadmill, virtual reality and exo-skeleton interventions to improve walking in individuals with neurological conditions

• Running Footwear (Road, Track, Trail)

• Trail Running Biomechanics (Steep Treadmill, Outdoors)