Home - International Society of Biomechanics

Professor Irene Davis Receives the Muybridge Award

Congratulations to Professor Irene S. Davis, PhD, PT, FAPTA, who will receive the Muybridge Award at the 2023 ISB Congress!

"Born to Move: Embracing our Evolutionary Legacy"

Dr. Irene Davis is a Professor in the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science in the Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida. Prior to this, she was the founding Director of the Spaulding National Running Center, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Davis received her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from the University of Massachusetts, and in Physical Therapy from the University of Florida. She earned her Master's degree in Biomechanics from the University of Virginia, and her PhD in Biomechanics from Pennsylvania State University. She is a Professor Emeritus in Physical Therapy at the University of Delaware where she served on the faculty for over 20 years. Her research is focused on the relationship between lower extremity structure, mechanics and injury. Her research also extends to the development of interventions to alter faulty mechanics through gait retraining. She has been studying the use of wearable sensors in both the evaluation and treatment of injured runners. Her interests also include the effect of minimal footwear on mechanics and injury. Dr. Davis has received funding from the Department of Defense, and National Institutes of Health to support her research. She has given over 350 lectures both nationally and internationally and authored 160 publications on the topic of lower extremity mechanics during walking and running gait. She has been named one of the 50 Most Influential People in Running. She is a Fellow and Past President of the American Society of Biomechanics, and the 2019 ASB Borelli award winner. She is also a Fellow, past Vice President and current President-Elect of the American College of Sports Medicine. Finally, she is a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association.

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 57: Open and Accessible Biomechanics Knowledge | Jacob Goodin

Today we are talking with Professor Jacob Goodin. Jacob is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California, and was previously the head strength and conditioning coach and sport scientist for Eastern Tennessee State University’s men’s and women’s tennis teams. We learn more about Jacob’s work in the lab and as a biomechanics teacher for many students around the world through his fantastic YouTube channel. His videos spanning movement science – from at-home workouts to statistics in kinesiology, all taught in a free, accessible, and exciting way – so much to learn from!

Thank you to our sponsors!
SageMotion: sagemotion.com

Link to past BOOM episode with Dan Lieberman: https://biomechanicsonourminds.com/episode-31-born-to-run-pt-3-dan-lieberman/?v=7516fd43adaa

Connect with Jacob Goodin!
Jacob’s Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrJacobGoodin/
Jacob’s faculty profile: https://www.pointloma.edu/faculty/jacob-goodin-phd-cscs-isak-ii

Connect with BOOM!
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: @biomechanicsonourminds
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/biomechanicsoom/
YouTube: Biomechanics On Our Minds
Website and shop: biomechanicsonourminds.com

Other resources:
The Biomechanics of Movement course on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3vG2068

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 56: Quantifying the Essence of Drumming Biomechanics | Nadia Azar

We had a great conversation with Professor Nadia Azar, an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Windsor. For the first time on BOOM, we learn about the biomechanics of drumming and playing other musical instruments. Nadia shares her findings on the mechanics of how playing-related injuries occur and how to prevent them, along with her own journey through biomechanics and music, and how learnings from each can inform the other. One of our favorite takeaways was from Nadia is where she talks about her quest to be an imperfectionist, and learns that at some point you just have to say, “F*** it, the essence is there.”

Thank you to our sponsors!
SageMotion: sagemotion.com

Connect with Nadia!
Bio: https://www.uwindsor.ca/kinesiology/455/dr-nadia-azar
Twitter: @DrNadiaAzar

Additional resources:
– TED Ed animation from Bit of BOOM “How playing an instrument benefits your brain – Anita Collins”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0JKCYZ8hng
– Music Education and the Brain: What Does It Take to Make a Change? – Anita Collins, 2014: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/8755123313502346

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 55: Proprioceptive Prostheses and Clinical Impact | Hamid Charkhkar and Anna Smith

We talked with Professor Hamid Charkhkar from Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland VA Medical Center and Anna Smith, a former Case Western student and research assistant in Professor Charkhkar’s neuroprosthesis group. We discussed the importance of being open to feedback from all stakeholders for human-centered research, how to translate that into holistic treatment strategies personalized to individual users, and about the impactful neuroprostheses that integrate sensory abilities being developed by Hamid’s lab. Anna highlights her experience learning that “I don’t know” is a valid answer in research while Hamid reminds us that things not going according to plan is an expectation in human research.

Thank you to our sponsors!

SageMotion: sagemotion.com

Connect with Hamid!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charkhkar/

Profile: https://www.aptcenter.research.va.gov/staff/investigators/charkhkar/

Connect with Anna!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aks174/

Connect with BOOM!

Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: @biomechanicsonourminds

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/biomechanicsoom/ YouTube:

Biomechanics On Our Minds Website and shop: biomechanicsonourminds.com

Resources Bit of BOOM: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-021-00966-9

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Student Voices Episode 16: Pandemic PhD Reflections | Michael Rose

This Student Voices episode is hosted by Michael Rose, a former clinical research coordinator and soon-to-be PhD student. In the episode Michael interviews three friends and colleagues – Ophelie Herve from UCLA, Gabi Diaz from CU Boulder, and Garrett Weidig from Michigan State University – on their experiences starting their PhD programs in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics range from integrating into new environments under lockdown measures and the pandemic’s impact on early research progress to how expectations were managed and advice for future graduate students.

Connect with BOOM!
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: @biomechanicsonourminds
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/biomechanicsoom/
YouTube: Biomechanics On Our Minds
Website and shop: biomechanicsonourminds.com

Support BOOM on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/biomechanicsonourminds

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 54 Part 2: Biomechanics in Practice | Bill DeSimone

This month we have two awesome interviews with people developing approaches to apply biomechanics in practice so things like performance training or even just standard weight training but in a safer way. This episode is Part 2 with Bill DeSimone. Bill is a personal trainer who focuses on teaching and sharing biomechanics-informed training to help prevent injury and improve performance. Part 1 was released earlier this month with Dr. Bryon Weinberg and Dr. Patrick Welsh from Athletic Movement Assessment. They are two doctors of chiropractic medicine who develop movement screens and can be used with everyday patients and clients, elite athletes, and teams. So if you haven’t listened to that, make sure to go back and check it out.

Connect with Bill!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jffproject/

Twitter: @BillDeS

Support BOOM on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/biomechanicsonourminds

Resources Bit of BOOM:

https://doi.org/10.1177/19417381211056089

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 54 Part 1: Biomechanics in Practice | Bryon Weinberg & Patrick Welsh from Athletic Movement Assessment

If you’re interested in learning more about how research in biomechanics can be translated into real and practical guidelines for improving training performance and safety, this episode is for you! We learn about putting biomechanics into practice with Dr. Bryon Weinberg and Dr. Patrick Welsh from Athletic Movement Assessment. Bryon and Patrick are doctors of chiropractic medicine who develop movement screens and can be used with everyday patients and clients, elite athletes, and teams. They are developing approaches to apply biomechanics in practice so things like performance training or even just standard weight training but in a safer way.

Connect with Bryon and Patrick!

Website: http://www.athleticmovementassessment.com/

Instagram: @athleticmovementassessment

Twitter: @AssessMovement

Facebook: Athletic Movement Assessment

Support BOOM on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/biomechanicsonourminds

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 53: Diversity in Perspectives and People in Biomechanics | Robin Queen

In this episode we talk with Professor Robin Queen, a professor at Virginia Tech in the department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics and the principal investigator of the Kevin P. Granata Biomechanics Lab. We discuss her diverse research projects including how she investigates the intersection of race and biomechanics and how she is developing better biomechanical metrics to better quantify and prevent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reinjury. She also shares the importance of building diverse teams, vulnerability, and connecting with others to do impactful work.

Connect with Robin Queen!

Lab website: https://www.granatalab.beam.vt.edu/

Lab Twitter: @Granatalab

Personal Twitter: @rmqueen_VT

Thank you to our sponsors!

SageMotion: sagemotion.com

Support BOOM on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/biomechanicsonourminds

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 52: Holla Back at Brain Biomechanics | Maria Holland

In this episode we talk with Maria Holland, Assistant Professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Notre Dame. We talked about the implications of different properties of the brain and how we can apply biomechanics to study brain growth such as changes in folding and cortical thickness.

Connect with Maria Holland!

Lab website: https://commandlab.nd.edu/

Twitter: @mholla_back

Biomechanics in the wild: https://sites.nd.edu/biomechanics-in-the-wild/

Thank you to our sponsors!

SageMotion: sagemotion.com

Support BOOM on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/biomechanicsonourminds

Resources:

More info about the NSF Career award: https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/faculty-early-career-development-program-career

Papers on cortical thickness:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hbm.25776

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10237-020-01400-w

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1140/epjst/e2020-000001-6

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 51: Weaving together Space, Aging, and Vehicle Safety Biomechanics | Ashley Weaver

We had so much fun talking to Professor Ashley Weaver, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Wake Forest School of Medicine about both her impactful research and educational projects. Her research spans three themes: 1) injury/crash biomechanics to improve car safety design elements 2) osteoporosis in aging and 3) the effects of space and microgravity on astronaut musculoskeletal systems. She uses a number of imaging modalities and modeling techniques to explore these themes and improve human biomechanics and health. She also directs university graduate and undergraduate programs to train the next generation of leaders and shares some tips on mentorship and building community.

Connect with Ashley Weaver!

Personal webpage: https://school.wakehealth.edu/Faculty/W/Ashley-Anne-Weaver

Twitter: @AshleyAWeaver

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-weaver-3808548/

Wake Forest BME department Twitter: @WakeBME

Thank you to our sponsors!

SageMotion: sagemotion.com

Support BOOM on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/biomechanicsonourminds

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 50: Celebrating BOOM | Hannah and Melissa

Happy 50th episode of BOOM! The tables are turned on the “BOOM doctors” Hannah and Melissa and they answer YOUR questions about BOOM, biomechanics, the future, fails, and more.

A note from your hosts… We are SO grateful for all of your support since the beginning of BOOM. We’ve loved being on this journey with you and can’t wait to see what the future holds for BOOM and biomechanics. Much love, Melissa and Hannah

Thank you to our sponsors!

SageMotion: sagemotion.com

Support BOOM on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/biomechanicsonourminds

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Bonus Episode: Your Friendly Neighborhood Markerless Motion Capture | Jon Matthis

In this episode we talk to Jonathan Samir Matthis, tenure-track professor of human movement neuroscience in Boston and founder of the FreeMoCap Foundation. We discuss how FreeMocap is collaboratively and thoughtfully “duct-taping together” open-source software to make it more accessible and usable for all.

Connect with Jon Matthis!
FreeMoCap website: freemocap.org
Twitter: @JonMatthis

Resources
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982218303099

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 49: On-Field Baseball Biomechanics - Don't Be Deceived | Mike Sonne

Our guest today is Dr. Mike Sonne, chief scientist at Three Motion AI where they use biomechanics to elevate athlete training and performance in baseball! We learn about how to translate biomechanical evaluations into useable applications like quantifying changes in performance. While you don’t need to be a baseball expert to enjoy this epsiode, we think you’ll be excited to see how biomechanics is informing professional baseball players and get inspired to make a big impact in your own work.

Connect with Mike Sonne!
Twitter: @DrMikeSonne
ProPlayAI twitter: @proplayai
ProPlayAI: proplayai.com

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 48: Bioengineering Your Own Path | Bob Guldberg

On this episode, we talk with Dr. Bob Guldberg, who is the Vice President and the Executive Director of the Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact at the University of Oregon. We loved learning about being a successful academic entrepreneur and his work in musculoskeletal tissue regeneration. Bob also shares the importance of embracing interdisciplinarity and creating diverse and inclusive communities (even with our four-legged friends).

Connect with Bob Guldberg!
Lab website: https://www.guldberglab.org
Knight Campus Twitter: @UOKnightCampus
Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance Twitter: @WuTsaiAlliance

Resources
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9627987

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Bonus Episode: Markerless Motion Capture | Scott Selbie

In this episode, we dive into markerless motion capture with Dr. Scott Selbie, the Chief Executive Officers of Theia Markerless Inc, Director of Research at C-Motion Inc, an adjunct Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Queen’s University and in the department of Kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts.

We talk about the exciting future of markerless motion capture, the barriers of markerless becoming the new “gold standard” to motion capture, and how Theia aims to overcome these challenges. We also discuss start-ups, industry, and (one of our favorite topics) failure!

Additional clarification: To add to our discussion about discussing feature identification, we wanted to add the note that the salient points for the neural network are points that are not necessarily equivalent to the locations that markers are placed. With a physical marker, palpation identifies bony landmarks. For salient features it is less important that the marker represent a bony prominence than it is a location that can be reliably identified on a video image. It turns out that the reliable locations are not coincident with a bony prominence.

Theia Markerless is a young start-up that is revolutionizing motion capture in biomechanics by harnessing machine vision and artificial intelligence to provide incredibly accurate markerless motion capture software that is simple, powerful, and versatile. To find out more, follow Theia on Twitter or go to www.theiamarkerless.ca

Connect with Theia!
Website: www.theiamarkerless.ca
Twitter: @theiamarkerless

Connect with Scott Sebie!
Twitter: @wscottselbie

Connect with BOOM!
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: @biomechanicsOOM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/biomechanicsoom/
Website and shop: biomechanicsonourminds.com

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 45: Wearable Systems and Starting a Lab Internationally | Pete Shull

In this interview, we talk with Pete Shull, Associate Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and who is the principal investigator of the Wearable Systems Laboratory. Pete shares exciting new wearables and robotics research including hand gesture recognition from a wrist-worn sensor and energy harvesting shoes. We discuss the pros and cons of starting a company that stems from research innovations and he shares his experience starting a research lab in Shangai, from both a research and personal perspective!

Follow Pete Shull!
Wearable Systems Lab: http://www.wearablesystems.org/research
SageMotion Systems: https://www.sagemotion.com/

Connect with BOOM!
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: @biomechanicsOOM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/biomechanicsoom/
Website and shop: biomechanicsonourminds.com

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 47: Fashion Meets Biomechanics | Martha Hall

On this episode of BOOM, we host Dr. Martha Hall, the Director of Innovation of Health Sciences at the University of Delaware and the founder of Dr. Martha Hall Designs and FashionableScience.com, which are dedicated to promoting and creating adaptive apparel, wearable technology, and other innovative solutions to empower populations with special needs. Martha shares with us how she successfully bridges fashion, biomechanics, engineering, entrepreneurship, and other fields for the human-focused, holistic design of wearable systems. She shares her insights on translating research developments into accessible devices and carving a new field spanning fashion and biomechanics.

Connect with Martha!

Innovation Lab website: https://sites.udel.edu/innovationlab/
Martha’s website: https://drmarthahalldesigns.com/

Connect with BOOM!
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: @biomechanicsOOM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/biomechanicsoom/
Website and shop: biomechanicsonourminds.com

BOOM: Biomechanics podcast

Episode 46: Bilingual Biomechanists in Digital Health | Alison McGregor

In this episode, Professor Alison McGregor is on the show! Alison is a Professor of Musculoskeletal Biodynamics in the Department of Surgery and Cancer at the Imperial College London, where she manages the Human Performance Group. We dive deep into the importance of speaking the language of engineers and clinicians when developing digital health solutions for clinical problems. Alison shares her tips for communicating across disciplines and with patients to develop the most effective treatments. She also shares how biomechanics has played a role in developing interventions for managing lower back pain and improving sedentary behavior.

Connect with Alison!

Alison’s website: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/a.mcgregor

Connect with BOOM!
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: @biomechanicsOOM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/biomechanicsoom/
Website and shop: biomechanicsonourminds.com

ISB is 50!

ISB celebrates a half century this year!

ISB was founded on 30th August 1973. In August 2023, in Fukuoka at our next Congress, we want to organize a big birthday party! But we have about a year and a half before we can officially celebrate this great achievement. We should be proud to be not only the most international and the largest society in Biomechanics, but also the oldest. These have been 50 years of education, creation, aggregation, success, dedication, connection, donation, inspiration, innovation, and in one word - passion. We have contributed to novel devices, treatments, and performances for the benefit of clinical, physical, and industrial activities. All this from real science, based on experimental measurements, validated models, established theories, settled algorithms. We are grateful to the founders, but also want to look ahead and contribute with our discipline to a better quality of life, world-wide. In this period to come we would love to arrange a number of initiatives to remember, to store and to take advantage of these vital steps forward. The traditional ISB logo is thus embellished for these two years!

isb50 symbol words

If you want to add your thoughts, sentiments and ideas write to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

2021 General Assembly Minutes

The minutes of the 2020 General Assembly of the ISB were confirmed at a virtual meeting by the ISB Council on July 24, 2021:

Minutes of the ISB General Assemply Meeting, July 28 2021. Stockholm (digital).

ISB welcomes new sponsor

It is with great pleasure that we announce Bertec Corporation as the newest Gold Level sponsor to provide support to the ISB.

Please read on for an overview of Bertec's biomechanical history and contemporary offerings.

Bertec's products have represented a legacy of excellence in biomechanics for over thirty years. We provide solutions founded in accuracy and precision. Our engineering is trusted worldwide to enable a deeper understanding of human movement in research, performance, and clinical applications. Bertec portable and fixed force plates are designed for gait, balance, and performance analyses. Our patented strain gauge technology, innovative transducer designs, and quality manufacturing help you capture the highly accurate data needed for your research. Bertec force plates lead the industry in center of pressure and force measurement accuracy with negligible crosstalk, drift, and signal interference. Analog signals sampled internally at 1000Hz are immediately processed by our custom electronics into digital data impervious to degradation.

Bertec Fully Instrumented Treadmill with Instrumented Handrails as an Option. The Bertec Fully Instrumented Treadmill allows researchers to reduce gait laboratory space requirements and remove the limitations inherent in a traditional gait walkway. The unique design results in superior dynamic characteristics and a high natural frequency making it the best research-grade fully instrumented treadmill available on the market and the only one with the option for instrumented handrails!

Bertec’s Instrumented Stairs with Instrumented Handrails as an Option. A one-of-a-kind solution. Measure ground reaction forces and assess mobility on customizable instrumented stairs. Because the stairs are on wheels and the force plates are easily detachable, the instrumented stairs have maximum portability. Use stand-alone force plates or add instrumented handrails to capture upper arm data as well.

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