Seminar Series
The Biomechanics Laboratory Seminar Series will be held on the following dates and times:
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Friday, Friday, April 3, 2009 - 4:00 – 5:00 pm - 111 Chambers Building
“20 Years … Really?”
Mark D. Grabiner, Ph.D.
Dept. of Kinesiology and Nutrition
University of Illinois at Chicago
The broad focus of our research for the past 20 years has been on the influence of normal and pathological aging on the human musculoskeletal system. In particular, we are dedicated to the study of the influence of aging on locomotion, characterizing the modifiable mechanisms underlying the incidence of falls and fall-related injuries in older adults, and translating our findings to the design, development and deployment of clinically-relevant technologies and interventions. Our work addresses two primary goals. First, we seek to reduce the incidence of falls by older adults. To achieve this goal, our approach has been to characterize biomechanical mechanisms of falls that are directly amenable to intervention. Our second goal is to reduce the likelihood of fall-related fractures. Our approaches include increasing bone quality and enhancing the healing process of those older adults who do experience a fracture. more...
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Friday, January 23, 2009 - 4:00 – 5:00 pm - 111 Chambers Building
"Product Design Assessment Using Synthesized Anthropometric Data"
Matthew B. Parkinson, Ph.D.
Departments of Engineering Design and Mechanical Engineering
The Pennsylvania State UniversityTraditional ergonomics and human factors assessments rely on boundary manikins or population models for assessment of products, tasks, or environments. A new approach to designing for human variability (DfHV) combines the use of manikins with statistical models of experimental data to predict the interaction of individuals. To be effective, however, this hybrid approach requires the anthropometry of a large number of individuals within the target user population. Since these data are rarely available, several methodologies for synthesizing anthropometry using relationships in available databases were developed, the most successful utilizing principal components analysis (PCA). This approach, as well as its use within the new DfHV construct, will be presented. more...