March 2019

ISB NOW - March 2019 Now Available

ISB News

President's Blog - Joe Hamill

ISB Election News - Andrew Cresswell

Students Corner - Melissa Boswell

ISB/ASB 2019 Calgary Update - Walter Herzog

ISB Tutorials - Running shoes, Bone strength, Statistics and Standards of kinetic data reporting

Economically Developing Countries Report - Felipe P Carpes

ISB Travel Grant News

Matching Dissertation Grant Recipient Reports

ISB Travel Grant Recipient Reports

Outside ISB and Technical Group News

National Biomechanics Day

The NEW 'Comparative Neuromuscular Biomechanics' Seed Group

Motor Control Working Group

Footwear Biomechanics Group Executive Board - Seeking Nominations

Footwear Biomechanics Symposium

Presidents Blog

I recently watched a documentary called ‘The Dinosaur Echo’ that referred to what we can learn from the dinosaur extinction.  This film featured the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta, Canada, the province to where many of us will travel this year.  I was interested because the famous paleontologist, Philip Curie told of how children are fascinated by dinosaurs.  Many years ago, I had a conversation with Robert McNeill Alexander (1934-2016), a famous Zoologist and Biomechanist, who has written many books on animal and human movement.  As a fellow Northern Irishman (he was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland), I was privileged to have this talk with him.  We spoke of one of my favorite books of his, ‘The Biomechanics of Dinosaurs and Other Big Animals’.  It was then that he asked me if I knew the biggest word that most 3 year-old children know?  He told me the word was ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex’ because all children are fascinated with dinosaurs.  I told Professor Alexander that adults are also interested and fascinated with dinosaurs.  I often used information on dinosaurs when I taught undergraduate biomechanics to make things interesting.

Now to more serious things.  This year will be a busy year for many of us because of the number of conferences and symposia to be held.  The 2019 ISB Congress in Calgary, Canada is just around the corner and the organizing committee led by Drs. Walter Herzog and Benno Nigg have made great strides on the preparation for this event.  The list of keynote speakers for the Congress is truly impressive with Professor Hugh Herr presenting the Wartenweiler Lecture and Professor Ralph Müller the Muybridge Lecture.  Other keynote speakers include Professors Heike Vallery and Kim Bennell.  I hope to see many of you in Calgary.  The website for the 2019 ISB Congress is live and available HERE.

There will also be two pre-conference symposia to be held. in Canmore and Kananaskis, Alberta from July 28-30, 2019.  The first of these symposia is the Computer Simulation in Biomechanics meeting held in Canmore from July 28-30.  This symposium features keynote speakers Wendy Murray and Ilse Jonkers.  The second symposia is the Footwear Biomechanics Group meeting to be held in Kananaskis also from July 28-30.  The featured keynote speakers include Thor Besier, Breanne Everett, Richard Kent and Rodger Kram.  The web sites for these symposia can be found here. 

Prior to the ISB congress and the symposia described above are the European College of Sports Science meeting in Prague, Czech Republic from July 3-6 and the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports meeting in Oxford, Ohio, USA, from July 21-25.  Information regarding these conferences can be found on the following web sites.

Lastly, I would like to take the opportunity to encourage all to participate in the 4^th Annual National Biomechanics Day on April 10, 2019.  Professor Paul DeVita should be congratulated for his inspired work on NBD.  This event will introduce Biomechanics to an incredible number of high school students around the world. Check the American Society of Biomechanics web site for more information and how you can participate in National Biomechanics Day.

Lastly, I hope that you will attend one or more of the Biomechanics congresses and I hope to see and converse with many of you.  Have a happy start to what promises to be a busy year.

Joseph Hamill (ISB President)

ISB Election News

I would like to take the opportunity to thank those of you that have taken the time and interest to be nominated or nominate ISB members to the positions of ISB President Elect, ISB Councillor and ISB Student Representative.

Nominations are now closed and financial members can expect to receive ballot information and voting instructions in early- to mid-March.

Please take the time to vote as these are important positions in our Society and we would like the majority of our membership to be engaged in the process.

Kind regards, Andrew Cresswell, ISB Past President

Students Corner - Melissa Boswell (ISB Student Representative)

I am looking forward to meeting many of you in Calgary this July for ISB/ASB 2019! Don’t forget that the early-bird registration period closes May 15th. Click here to register now! Student events are described below – sign up for the free events during registration and join the fun!

Student accommodation is also available on the ISB 2019 website here. I would also like to encourage you to discuss accommodation sharing opportunities via our Student Members Facebook Group. If you do not use Facebook, please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to connect you to other students who are also looking to share accommodation.

ISB/ASB 2019 Student Events

Registration for ISB/ASB 2019 is officially open and there are exciting events available for students!  You can sign up for the events through registration, including:

Information on student accommodation, events, and grants can be found here.

Available Student Grants

There are grants available to ISB Student Members including:

1. Developing Country Student Travel Grant: Students from developing countries may be eligible for travel grants funded by The University of Calgary and Delsys Inc. Detailed information on how to apply for this grant Is available here.   
2. The International Travel Grant program (ITG): In order to allow student members to travel abroad to experience science in other countries and cultures, and to build up international collaborations we will offer several grants of up to $US2500 for travel related to biomechanics research (due May 30, 2019)

Additional information and applications can be found here.

Other grants especially for students can be found at the ISB website.

Biomechanics on our Minds (BOOM) Podcast

We have newly released episodes of Biomechanics on Our Minds (BOOM) listed below!  It is available for free on SoundCloud and on iTunes.  You can email us with ideas for biomechanics topics, what you would like to hear about, or to share a “research fail” on the podcast at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

• Episode 11: Dinosaur Biomechanics – We’re talking dinosaur biomechanics and the evolution of dinosaur biomechanics. We interview Professor John Hutchinson of the Royal Veterinary College, Professor of Evolutionary Biomechanics. Learn how biomechanists and animators teamed together in the making of Jurassic Park to make sure T-Rex had realistic movements and speeds.
• Episode 12: Emphasis on International - Joe Hamill, current International Society of Biomechanics President, talks about his vision for making ISB "truly international". Hear about why he values ISB as a top tier biomechanics society, including it's emphasis on the students.
• Episode 13: Mental Health on our Minds – How do we stay resilient against unexpected outcomes of science research? On this episode, we talk with Professor Jen Heemstra and Dr. Meredith Henry from Emory University on having a mindset to grow from failure.

Connect with ISB on Social Media

Keep up to date with ISB by liking our ISB Facebook Page, joining the Student Members Facebook Page and following ISB on Twitter! If you have any feedback, comments, suggestions or questions please feel free to contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Kind Regards,

Melissa Boswell

ISB/ASB 2019 Calgary update

Everybody who has ever organized a scientific conference goes through the agony of what to expect. Usually, this agony subsides once the abstract submission deadline has passed, and the extent of the scientific aspect of the conference becomes a bit clearer.

For us, this happened on January 31^st, the deadline for abstract submissions. We received 1751 abstracts for the general program, and will be receiving another 160 abstracts for the keynote, invited and invited symposia speakers, for a total of approximately 1911 abstracts.

All abstracts have already been sent out to a total of 108 volunteer reviewers for double review of each submitted abstract. Thank you to all of you who agreed to help us in this important task. We expect all reviews to be done by mid-March, and so should be on schedule for informing everybody by April 15^th about the status of their abstract; that is one month prior to the early registration deadline.

Some observations about the abstract submissions: The areas of “sport biomechanics” and “locomotion” [walking, running, clinical gait etc,] were the most selected topics. Also, we are happily surprised about the many abstract submission from Asia, with front running countries including China, Korea and Japan.

As you start thinking about registering for the conference, please keep in mind the early registration deadline (May 15^th, 2019 – no extension).

We would also like to emphasize the great support we received from various faculties and departments of the University of Calgary, which allowed us to reduce the registration costs for 50 full registrants from economically developing countries (EDC) to $ 500 (instead of $800 ISB member or $975 non ISB member early registration). Thirty students from economically developing countries whose abstract will be accepted, will also be eligible for free registration and free accommodation for the conference duration (for an estimated savings of $800) at one of the premier conference hotels (shared accommodation – 2 students per room). We hope that this provides an incentive, and opens the possibility, for many students from EDC countries to attend this exciting event.

Needless to say that the unexpected large number of abstract submissions has its own challenges for hosting the conference and putting together a strong program that allows participants for full exposure to the exciting scientific posters and presentations. We will work hard to make this possible, and that despite the size, you will feel appreciated and well taken care of. After all, we are family, and aside from the science, this is the conference to meet up with old friends and colleagues, and maybe even establish that relationship with a long-time nemesis of yours. What a fun time. I cannot wait to welcome you all in Calgary.

Walter Herzog

(on behalf of the organizing committee)

Running shoes, Bone strength, Statistics and Standards of kinetic data reporting

Eminent biomechanists give tutorials on the opening day of ISB/ASB 2019 in Calgary. In the morning parallel sessions Benno Nigg challenges conventional paradigms of running shoe biomechanics and Todd Pataky updates you on modern views of statistics including machine learning. In the afternoon, Saija Kontulainen helds an interactive tutorial on bone strength and physical activity and Tim Derrick and Stacey Meardon guide you in proper ways of calculating joint moments. Register to the tutorials and the congress simultaneously at https://isb2019.com/en/buy-tickets.

ISB Travel Grant News

The International Society of Biomechanics Awards committee, headed by Prof Alberto Leardini, is delighted to announce that they were able to fund the following travel awards to our student members - 

Matching Dissertation Grant - 3 awardees

International Travel Grant - 2 awardees

Congress Travel Grant - 17 awardees

The ISB would also like to thank all of the committee members who give up their time to be able to assess all applications in a fair and transparent manner.

Please see the Student Grants Section of the website for more information on the available grants, how to apply and the important application deadlines.

Providing support for student travel is one of the key areas of student support provided by the ISB. We know that this makes a big difference to students and their learning outcomes - please read the reports from previous recipients available in the March 2019 ISB Now for some of the great work that is supported by these travel grants.

Economically Developing Countries Report - Felipe P Carpes

The year 2019 started and most likely every biomechanists around the globe was finishing abstracts for the ISB congress in Calgary. In addition, there are many other biomechanics conferences in 2019 including the XVIII Brazilian Congress of Biomechanics, which is considered the more important event of biomechanics in South America. These are important news, but not the only news to share in this edition of ISB now. I am pleased to tell all ISB members about some activities of the last months. Please take a look and share!

Brazilian Congress and Latin American Meeting of Biomechanics in Brazil

Next May (1-4^th) biomechanics community from South America will meet during the XVIII edition of the Brazilian Congress of Biomechanics. With a number of invited speakers from different countries, the event will happen in Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, in the heart of the Amazon forest. The congress program includes the second edition of the Latin American Meeting of Biomechanics, with lectures of researchers from institutions of Latin America. The organizers expected more than 500 registrations to the event. Lasting one week to the final deadline for abstract submission more than 300 abstract were already submitted online. Learn more about the congress at www.cbb2019.com. This is the official congress of the Brazilian Society of Biomechanics (www.bsb.org.br).

Book donation

We are very happy to tell ISB community that we received a new book donation. Prof. Angus Burnett, from Doha - Qatar, donated a number of biomechanics books that were sent to the Department of sports sciences and Physical Education, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. If your group feels could be benefited of a book donation, please contact prof. Carpes and register your interest.

We acknowledge this important donation from prof. Burnett, who said “Biomechanics was very good to me for 25+ years of my life so I feel I owe something to the discipline.” The books will be very helpful to the biomechanics group from Pakistan and all the member of the recently established Pakistan Society of Sports Biomechanics.

Prof. Angus Burnett.

Developing Countries Grant Competition 2019 (DCGC 2019)

During the ISB Congress in Calgary DCGC 2019 will award five projects from EDC groups in biomechanics with the purpose to incentive innovative and collaborative activities to develop biomechanics in EDC regions. The DCCG if supported by ISB, Tekscan, and Vicon Motion Systems. Any biomechanics researcher from an EDC country is eligible to apply. The application can include members not originated from EDC countries in the team. The coordinator of the proposal should be from an EDC country and a financial member of International Society of Biomechanics. The proposal should be developed in an EDC region.

Prepare your application and submit by email to Prof. Carpes at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. according to the grant guidelines and the proposal template. More importantly, before submission prof. Carpes is fully available to guide the construction of your proposal. Please feel free to contact him with any question you may have.

Grant assessment will be performed in two phases. On the first phase, applications will be assessed based in the writing proposal. A committee will define which applications are eligible for oral presentation at the DCGC 2019 during the XXVII Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics (ISB2019). The event will happen on August 1st, 2019, 1:00AM – 2:00PM.

Grants to be awarded:

1st place: USD 1000 (supported by International Society of Biomechanics)

2nd place: USD 700 (supported by Tekscan Inc.)

3rd place: USD 400 (supported by Vicon Motion Systems)

4th place: USD 300 (supported by International Society of Biomechanics)

5th place: USD 300 (supported by International Society of Biomechanics)

Deadlines: Application opens on March 1^st 2019 and closes on March 30^th 2019.

We want you to join this journey!

We are looking for new EDC initiatives. Why not starts your project today? For details on proposing an EDC project, check the ISB website (link bellow) and contact Prof. Carpes. He will provide all the support.

Matching Dissertation Grant Recipient Reports

Yo Shih - University of Southern California, USA

The International Society of Biomechanics’ Matching Dissertation Grant supported my dissertation which investigates the neural correlates associated with lower extremity movement behavior.

Various knee injuries such as patellofemoral pain and anterior cruciate ligament injuries have been linked to a lower extremity movement pattern that favors use of the knee extensors relative to the hip extensors. Insufficient strength of the hip extensors relative to the knee extensors has been proposed to underlie this high-risk biomechanical strategy, however muscle strength only explains a small amount of the variance (17%) in this movement pattern (Stearns et al., 2013).

Apart from diminished strength, altered motor control has been suggested to underlie high-risk lower extremity movement patterns. Centrally-mediated control factors influence how the muscle is used and can be probed by testing the excitability of the corticomotor pathway for a specific muscle (Fisher et al., 2013). This is done by measuring the amplitude of evoked potentials produced in the muscle by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Although TMS has been used to study upper extremity muscles, there is little research examining the relationship between corticomotor excitability (CME) and lower extremity biomechanics. To date, the association between corticomotor control and movement impairments related to knee injury is unknown. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to determine the association between 1) CME of gluteus maximus (GM) and the hip extensor strength, and 2) CME of GM and the use of hip extensor (measured by average hip extensor moment) during single-leg drop jump.

Thirty-two healthy individuals (17 females, 15 males) participated. The slope of the input-output curve obtained from transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to assess CME of GM. The maximal hip extensor torque during maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) was used to represent hip extensor strength. The averaged hip extensor moment during the stance phase of the single-leg drop jump was calculated to represent the use of hip extensors.

A significant positive correlation between CME of GM and hip extensor strength (r = 0.6, p<0.001) was found. Also, the CME of GM is significantly correlated to the average hip extensor moment during the single-leg drop jump (r = 0.44, p= 0.01). These findings suggest that the hip extensor strength and the use of the hip extensors during single-leg drop jump are associated with the strength of the descending neural drive along the corticomotor pathway of GM. The altered motor control of the GM may play a role in movement behavior thought to be contributory to knee injury.

I fully appreciate the International Society of Biomechanics for the support of this dissertation.

Jodie Willis - Macquarie University, Australia

I would like to thank the ISB council members for awarding me the matching dissertation grant to assist with my PhD research that is investigating sex-specific biomechanical and neuromuscular adaptations to targeted 10-week physical training programs for Military load-carriage.

My first study involved recruiting a male-only population who could meet Australian Army basic fitness assessment requirements. Various physical performance measures including strength, power, physiological, and psychophysiology responses were collected to enable the assessment of adaptive responses to load carriage training. We found that the lower- limb specific training program elicited positive physical performance improvements and physiological adaptations. These results were presented at my first international conference at International Society of Biomechanics in Sport 2018 in Auckland, New Zealand. Further findings included kinematic variations and adaptive responses in gait over time; these were presented at Australasian Biomechanics Conference (ABC11). Presenting at these conferences were fantastic experiences that allowed me to gain valuable feedback from other researchers in the field and allowed me to reflect on my research for future studies. I was also able to present load carriage task psychophysiological findings at the 2018 Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA) International Conference. This was a great opportunity to network and present among applied practitioners working in both tactical and professional athlete environments.

My second PhD study has already commenced and replicates the male study with a female- only population. Physical performance and biomechanical data will be compared with male results to identify sex-specific responses to physical training. Analysis has so far shown that females appear to respond similarly to males through positive physical performance adaptations after 10-weeks of specific training. Data from both these studies have been submitted in three abstracts for presentations at ISB/ASB 2019. Later this year I am looking forward to starting my third and final PhD study. This research will will aim to identify if there is a specific physical training program that will optimise load carriage performance in female soldiers.

I would like to again thank ISB for this award as it helped to enrich my research and has contributed to the opportunities that I have experienced throughout my PhD so far. I look forward to presenting at ISB/ASB 2019!

Emily Gerstle - University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Transition step mechanics: how influential are age and fall risk?

As age increases, so does the risk of fall related injuries. Older adults (65 and older) fall, most often during locomotion and almost twice as often as middle-aged adults [2]. Older adult women specifically fall twice as often as men and incur almost three times the medical costs for treatment of fall related injuries [3]. One of the most hazardous types of locomotion for older adults is step negotiation. In fact, steps or curbs account for the second most common activity during which falls take place in older adults [4]. Further, the rate of injury due to falls during step negotiation is 12% greater than that during level walking, the most common activity during which falls occur [5]. The most commonly reported causes of falls on steps are errors in step clearance (e.g. catching the heel on the edge of the stair) or misplacing the foot on the step (e.g. over or under stepping) [6]. However, results of previous studies examining older adults during step negotiation have been inconsistent.

The purpose of this study was to identify modifiable lower extremity mechanical factors associated with transition step clearance and landing in young women, older women with no fall history, and older women with a history of falls.

Specifically examined were:

• Lead and trail limb minimum vertical step clearance and horizontal displacement from step
• Bilateral kinematics (hip, knee, ankle) during each foot minimum clearance
• Lead limb distal foot kinematics at initial contact and during weight acceptance

Currently data collection and data processing are underway. Many thanks to the ISB for supporting this research; I look forward to sharing the results at the XXVII ISB Congress in Calgary.

References:

1. Lee, H.J. and L.S. Chou. J Biomech, 2007. 40(11): p. 2530-6.
2. Skalska, A., et al. Exp Gerontol, 2013. 48(2): p. 140-6.
3. Burns, E.R., et al. J Safety Res, 2016. 58: p. 99-103.
4. Koepsell, T.D., et al. J Am Geriatr Soc, 2004. 52(9): p. 1495-501.
5. Duckham, R.L., et al. BMC Geriatrics, 2013. 13(1): p. 133.
6. Templer, J. The staircase. 1992, MIT Press.

ISB Travel Grant Recipient Reports

Erica Casto - University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

The ISB Student International Travel Grant allowed me to visit the research group of Dr. Benno Nigg in the Human Performance Lab (HPL) at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada to work with experts on the analysis of electromyography (EMG) to assess coordination patterns of movement and muscle activation. Throughout the course of my visit, I was exposed to a variety of research techniques and questions through discussion with students and faculty, attendance of weekly seminars and group meetings.

With the expertise of Dr. Vinzenz von Tscharner and Dr. Mischael Asmussen, I was able to learn and understand the application and interpretation of wavelet-based filtering and pattern-recognition techniques for the analysis of surface EMG. I gained experience using these techniques on a dataset that had been previously collected at UMass, and since returning to UMass I have continued to explore and apply the techniques learned in the HPL. I look forward to presenting my work at the 2019 ISB/ASB meeting in Calgary this summer as it pertains to the role of muscle activation patterns in declines in mobility and physical function with aging.

Aside from working with a previously collected dataset, I was able to work with Dr. Asmussen in his current research projects, all involving the use of technology I would not have otherwise encountered. This included the use of force-instrumented pedals on a cycle and motion capture using an active-marker system. Further, each week I had the opportunity to meet with a relative expert on various equipment or analysis methods within the HPL in order to gain exposure to a variety of unique analysis and data collection methods. These meetings included demonstrations on the use monopolar current amplifiers for the measurement of EMG signal coherence, application and measurement of muscle activity using indwelling EMG electrodes, or discussions and examples for application of a variety of machine learning techniques currently used within the HPL.

I would like to thank the ISB Council for this rewarding opportunity that I otherwise could not have funded on my own. The professional training and research exposure I received during my time in the HPL will significantly enhance the design and impact of my dissertation project investigating the role of muscle coordination patterns on altered physical function in individuals with knee osteoarthritis compared to healthy older adults. My newly acquired skill set and the international collaborations resulting from this visit will prove invaluable for my growth and success as a researcher allowing me to make significant contributions to the field.

Christopher McCrum - Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Travelling and working internationally can be catalysts for personal and academic growth. However, long term studies or post doc periods in other countries, while hugely beneficial, are not possible for everyone. In my case, I recently became a parent, and the ISB International Travel Grant was an ideal way to gain valuable international experience planned in parallel with the summer vacation of my family. In February 2018, I was grateful to be awarded the International Travel Grant. This award allowed me to plan a project and visit Dr. Avril Mansfield and her Safe Independent Mobility Lab at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (TRI), Canada in the Summer of 2018, shortly following the World Congress of Biomechanics in Dublin.

In the last few years, my PhD research has focused on the stability and adaptability of walking, in particular in relation to falls risk in older adults. However, as I have progressed in these topics, two questions have continually arisen: 1) how do we most optimally train and improve stability control in general; and 2) how do we transfer research findings in healthy subjects to clinical settings with people at greatly increased falls risk, i.e. neurological diseases, and how do we balance effectiveness with feasibility? As Avril’s lab is specialised in precisely these questions using state of the art facilities and technology, it seemed like a great fit! Luckily, Avril also agreed!

Together we planned a project investigating the biomechanical adaptations in stance stability control during and following perturbation protocols with different intensity paradigms: increasing, steady and random. These different paradigms result in differing degrees of predictability and require different adaptations in stability to successfully cope with the task. This work is still ongoing in the lab.

In addition, I was able to develop my own research question to apply to data collected as part of a randomised controlled trial of perturbation-based balance training in people with stroke. This project is currently nearing completion. Our aim here was to describe the mediolateral stability of people with stroke during the first reactive step following anteroposterior perturbations to stance and investigate if mediolateral stability is related to the stepping leg used (paretic vs. non-paretic), whether multiple recovery steps are required to recover balance.

As well as these academic projects, I was able to gain first hand experience of how the knowledge of the biomechanics and motor control of balance gained from research is being applied to the clinical examination and training of balance and gait in patients with stroke and spinal cord injury. My deepest thanks to the clinicians and patients who allowed me to observe and interact in these sessions!

I would like to thank the ISB for this opportunity and thank Avril and her team for hosting me. It was a great experience that I will not forget!

Daiani de Campos - Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil

In November 2017, I was awarded the ISB Student International Affiliate Development Grant offered by the International Society of Biomechanics. Because of this support, from January to June 2018, I was involved in a project called “The non-intuitive mechanics of agonist muscles” developed at the Human Performance Laboratory - University of Calgary under the supervision of Dr Hezog. In addition to the research project, I had the opportunity to take four courses in the Faculty of Kinesiology and to participate in weekly activities organized by Dr. Herzog’s research group.

The project was a follow up of a recent conjoint study (Federal University of Santa Catarina – University of Calgary), in which we have shown, that, in a rabbit model, the torque capacity of isolated quadriceps muscles is approximately 20% greater than the torque capacity of the muscle when activated simultaneously with its agonist group (Fontana, Han, Sawatsky, & Herzog, in press.). With these results, some basic assumptions that are often made in Biomechanics are violated. Our follow- up project was designed to explore possible factors related to this observed loss in torque capacity during simultaneous agonist activation. Main factors analyzed were intermuscular pressure, changes in knee extensor moment arm and changes in fascicle length and alignment across conditions (simultaneous and individual stimulation).

During my stay in Calgary, besides the data collection including intermuscular pressure measurements, muscle tendon force, joint torque, and fascicle tracking with sonomicrometry crystals (data processing and analysis ongoing), we ran a parallel investigation regarding the effect of reducing activation levels on the difference between simultaneous and individual stimulation. Since intermuscular pressure is thought to be a determinant of the observed differences between conditions, our hypothesis was that this difference would become smaller with decreasing levels of activation. Interestingly, we found an opposite trend, in which the loss in torque generating potential during simultaneous agonistic activation became greater for submaximal contractions. These results were presented at the 2018 International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology (ISEK) Congress and received the Student Travel Award. At the moment, we are finalizing a paper to be submitted to the Journal of Biomechanics at the end of this month.

I would like to express my gratitude to the ISB team for providing the financial support that allowed me to go to Calgary. All the experience and learning I acquired during my exchange period was of great importance to both my academic and personal lives. It was indeed a wonderful and experience with unparallel learning opportunities. Thank you very much.

National Biomechanics Day - April 2019

Dear Friends in the International Society of Biomechanics,

We are thrilled to announce the fourth National Biomechanics Day on April 10, 2019. With your participation NBD 2019 will introduce Biomechanics to an incredible number of high school students around the world. Please see the attached announcement about registering for NBD 2019 or please go directly HERE to register. Of course, you can hold your NBD event on any Spring or Summer day if April 10 does not work for you.

NBD has grown each year because of your enthusiastic participation. We now have the potential to revolutionize the impact of Biomechanics on society by showing our science in this synchronized, celebratory manner to thousands and thousands of young people. Please help us grow Biomechanics through our unique, worldwide and fun Biomechanics extravaganza. Through our unified outreach, we will make Biomechanics the 21^st century’s Breakthrough Science.

Sincerely and with great enthusiasm,

Paul DeVita

Director, Biomechanics Laboratory and Leroy T. Walker Distinguished Professor of Kinesiology, East Carolina University

PS For your enjoyment, please see these videos from NBD 2018 events at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab HERE and Rush University Medical Center HERE

The NEW 'Comparative Neuromuscular Biomechanics' Seed Group

2019 sees the launch of the Comparative Neuromuscular Biomechanics ‘Seed Group’!  The CNB is working towards establishing a new Technical Group of the International Society of Biomechanics. The CNB aims to increase the visibility of comparative biomechanics and neuromechanics at the ISB and to accelerate cross-pollination between comparative and human biomechanics fields.

The CNB is holding its inaugural symposium at the ISB-ASB 2019 Congress in Calgary: “Comparative biomechanics across organizational scales (tissues to whole body dynamics)”.  This symposium will highlight a range of comparative studies across organizational scales from tissues to integrated systems and whole-body dynamics. Speakers will present innovative research in comparative animal biomechanics and neuromechanics, highlighting the potential applications of their findings in more applied fields such as human sports science and rehabilitation, bio-inspired robotics and human-assistive devices.

Speakers:

• Monica Daley (Royal Vet. College, UK) & Craig McGowan (University of Idaho) Chairs
• Mariana Kersh (University of Illinois)
• Spencer Lake (Washington University, St Louis, USA)
• Natalie Holt (Northern Arizona University, USA)
• Manny Azizi (UC Irvine)
• Kiisa Nishikawa (NAU, USA)
• Greg Sawicki (Georgia Tech, USA)
• Stacey Shield (U. Cape Town, South Africa)
• Christian Hubicki (Florida State U, USA)

In addition, a second CNB-affiliated symposium will be held at ISB-ASB 2019: “Using musculoskeletal modelling in comparative biomechanics”, Chaired by Taylor Dick (University of Queensland) & Christofer Clemente (University of the Sunshine Coast).

The CNB is hosting a business meeting on Thursday August 1st at the ISB-ASB 2019 Congress; all are welcome!  The meeting will discuss the Group’s mission, draft constitution and future symposia, among other topics.  The CNB will be seeking nominations for elected board positions later in 2019.

For information regarding the CNB, including information on symposia, the CNB board, membership and contact information please visit:  https://sites.psu.edu/cnbgroup/

Looking forward to seeing you in Calgary!

Motor Control Working Group

We are pleased to announce two upcoming Symposia of the ISB Working Group in Motor Control In conjunction with the ACSM 2019 and ISB/ASB 2019 conferences.  The Symposia will feature internationally renowned speakers presenting their work at the intersection of Motor Control and Biomechanics.

We would like to thank the International Society of Biomechanics (ISB) for their support.

Symposium on Motor Control in Biomechanics at ACSM 2019

Title: The Integration of Motor Control into the Rehabilitation and Prevention of Sports Injuries

When: Tuesday May 28^th 2019, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Where: 66th American College of Sport Medicine (ACSM) Meeting, Orlando (Florida)

Registration and Fee: Attendance is free. If you would like to attend, please register here.

Invited Speakers: For final schedule, please visit our website.

*ISB-Sponsored Student Award: One travel award will be offered by the International Society of Biomechanics to support student participation to the Motor Control Group Symposium at ACSM 2019. The award consist of an amount of US $ 500, and the opportunity to present at the symposium. Application deadline is April 15^th 2019. Please apply here.

Symposium on Motor Control in Biomechanics at ISB/ASB 2019

When: July 31^st – August 4^th 2019

Where: ISB/ASB 2019 Meeting, Calgary (Canada)

Registration and Fee: Attendance is free for all ISB/ASB attendees. Register to the conference here.

Invited Speakers:

• Dr. Lena Ting (Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, USA)
• Dr. Francisco Valero-Cuevas (University of Southern California, USA)
• Dr. Julia Choi (University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA)
• Dr. Yashuo Kawakami (Waseda University, Japan)
• Dr. Emma Hodson-Tole (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)

Who Should Attend: Researchers and students with an interest in Biomechanics and Motor Control should attend. Participants will have the opportunity to discover the latest developments in these fields and discuss with experienced investigators.

Support: The symposia are kindly supported by the International Society of Biomechanics (ISB) and by the De Luca Foundation.

For additional details, see http://www.mcg.isbweb.org/ or contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We look forward to seeing you at these events!

Sincerely,

ISB Working Group in Motor Control

Footwear Biomechanics Group Executive Board – Seeking Nominations

Nominations are being accepted for open positions on the Footwear Biomechanics Group Executive Board. Full descriptions of these positions are available on our webpage (www.footwearbiomechanics.org).

1. Chairperson Elect
2. Industry Representative
3. Student Representative
4. Informatics Officer

Footwear Biomechanics Symposium

The 2019 Footwear Biomechanics Symposium will take place within the beautiful Pomeroy Lodge in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, July 28-July 30, immediately prior to the 2019 International Society of Biomechanics Congress. The resort is conveniently located 90 minutes (120 km) from the Calgary International Airport and is surrounded by a vast array of hiking and biking trails that span the Kananaskis Village. We would like to thank our current conference sponsors: University of Calgary: Faculty of Kinesiology, Novel, Xsensor, Brooks, Li-Ning, Mizuno and Under Armour.

We would like to thank all those that submitted abstracts for the #FBS2019. We received a record number of abstracts and all abstracts are currently undergoing the peer-review process. Decisions on abstracts should be distributed to authors in early April.

While abstract submission is officially closed, a reminder that early registration for the conference is currently open and will remain open until May 15, 2019. After May 15, both student and regular registration rates will increase, so save some money and register early at https://fbs2019.footwearbiomechanics.org/registration

The Footwear Biomechanics Symposium promotes research and the discussion of biomechanical issues related to functional footwear, including sport shoes, clinical/prescription footwear and footwear designed for special purposes. The conference not only includes many ground-breaking presentations within the realm of footwear science but is fortunate to have a large industry presence including scientists and representatives from many of the top footwear companies.