Biomechanics on our Minds

In this episode, we have a fun conversation with Professor Dan Lieberman, a paleoanthropologist at Harvard University. We talk running biomechanics, evolution, and mischaracterizations of the Tarahumara culture. _______ Bits of BOOM: - Running in Tarahumara (Rarámuri) Culture: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/708810 - Grazing hell: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/13/goats-escape-san-jose-video?CMP=share_btn_link - The Joy of Movement, Kelly McGonigal

Let's celebrate pride together! Join our conversation with Professor Carolyn Bertozzi and Ph.D. Student Riley Suhar, two amazing scientists that share their stories on being LQBTQ+. Whether you are a teacher, student, LQBTQ+, or an ally, we hope these stories will inspire you to join the movement in making science, and the world, more inclusive. Carolyn Bertozzi - Twitter: @CarolynBertozzi, Email: bertozzi@stanford.edu Riley Suhar - Twitter and Instagram: @RileyWillRain

This Student Voices episode is hosted by Nicholas Miller, a first-year graduate student at Marshall University, and includes an interview on the thesis process with Dr. Robert Lynall, a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Georgia. As a first-year master’s student, Nicholas addresses common concerns faced when working on a thesis process. Nicholas and Dr. Lynall discuss recruiting thesis committee members, critical steps in the thesis process, funding, ways to manage time as a graduate student, defending your thesis, and common pitfalls associated with a thesis project. Throughout the interview, Dr. Lynall imparts advice to current or prospective master’s students on how to be successful throughout the thesis process. Nicholas Miller is an M.S. student in the Biomechanics program at Marshall University, and Dr. Robert Lynall is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology of the University of Georgia, as well as the co-director of the UGA Concussion Laboratory and the UGA Biomechanics Laboratory.

Our guest on this episode is Sahana Kukke, who is the Program Director of Neural Engineering and works at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institutes of Health. She talks about how her career trajectory in biomechanics and academia led her to her current role at the NIH. She also shares perspectives and advice on making important connections that can help shape your path! ----- Bit of BOOM: Let’s take the dog for a gait… Niamh Gill, Crystal Kean, Matthew G.King Gait & Posture Volume 79, June 2020, Pages 1-2 https://www-sciencedirect-com.stanford.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S0966636220301053

What is this awesome new biomechanics blog? How can I learn more about it? In a new student voices episode, we talk to the students behind the Biomechanist (Jasper Johns, Jonas Ebbecke, Lasse Hansen, and Matthias Thelen) to answer these questions and more about this new initiative! Find this blog at https://www.biomechanist.net/about-us/ Follow the Biomechanist on Twitter at @Biomechanist_

This Student Voices episode includes interviews from graduate students and faculty from the Center for Human Machine Systems at Cleveland State University. As current graduate students we answered some of the most frequently asked questions by incoming graduate students about choosing the right advisor, how to balance coursework and research, and how to transition from an undergraduate student to a professional graduate colleague. We also discuss some of the milestones that come later in a graduate program – candidacy and writing a dissertation. You’ll also hear from faculty advisors on what they look for in a graduate student, what to expect from an advisor, what an advisor will expect from you, and more. This episode is hosted by PhD student Brittany Sommers and includes interviews with Phd students Derek Wolf, William Zaylor, Jack Schultz, Cameron LaMack; masters student Dana Lorenz; and faculty advisors Dr. Eric Schearer and Dr. Antonie van den Bogert.

While staying at home we compiled a short bonus episode about the biomechanics community's initiatives during COVID-19 and share our own experiences in quarantine.

Lisa MacFadden, director of the Sanford Sports Science Institute, shares her insights on navigating interdisciplinary work. This includes having respect for other areas and a willingness to learn from each other and learning to communicate with people from different fields. We also learn the important difference between statistical significance and clinical or sports performance significance.

In this episode, Brian Umberger, professor of Movement Science and director of the Locomotion Research Laboratory at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, joins us to talk about using experiments and modeling together, peer review, and being the president of the American Society of Biomechanics. We also celebrate National Biomechanics Day during our Bit of BOOM and share our Zoom fails.

On this episode, we talk with Professor Cara Wall-Scheffler who is a professor of biology at Seattle Pacific University. Her work spans sexual dimorphism (where two sexes of the same species exhibit different characteristics beyond the differences in their sexual organs). She talks about how men and women differ with regard to their metabolic cost and walking speed relation. We also talk about faith in science, leading to a discussion of the importance of understanding a variety of perspectives in science, particularly in teaching. She said it best with, “In order to learn you have to feel that your professor cares about you.”