.

From the PresidentJ. J. Trey Crisco

American Society of BiomechanicsNewsletter

Vol. 18 June 2005 No. 1www.asb-biomech.org

As we speed ahead to the end of the academic year excitement is inthe air, the snow is gone, spring is here, graduation is closing in fast- parties to go to - friends to see, projects need to be completed, examstaken, plans for summer, plans for next year…and beyond. With allthis going on, it is always a tough time to focus–but focusing duringthis time is especially important. At times what we focus on is notour choice; in academia, it is often our instructor’s, mentor’s or ourDean’s, but even if the focus is not our choice there is oftensubstantial leeway to make decisions within a larger framework.

From an outside perspective, ASB may not seem focused. A quicklook at our annual meeting program reveals talks on insects jumping,baseball pitching, strains in soft tissue, computer modeling, kneeinjuries, artificial joints…Where is the focus? Ah it is there! Thefocus is biomechanics – the application of mathematics, engineering,and physics to biological tissues structures and system. While thequestions and species may differ, the approaches and the path tounderstanding are focused on biomechanics. This diverse subjectmatter, interconnected via common techniques and scientificprinciples, is the most exciting part of ASB and of our annual meeting.

Perhaps we are a society of proverbial “hammers” looking for“nails.” The nails are the questions that need to be answered, thehammers are the techniques that we use to do so. Some say that thehammer should not be your focus – I like to disagree. To paraphraseEarnest Estwing, founder of Estwing Hammers, “if you give me ahammer and a house to build, I may not finish the house, but I willcome-up with a better hammer.” It could be said that he lackedfocus, but I think that is a matter of perspective. To some theconstruction of the house should be the “nail,” Estwing’s focusinstead was improving the hammer and in 1923, his companyintroduced one of the first hammer innovations since the Stone Age.Focus is critical; without focus, goals cannot be accomplished.

The current focus of our Society is the upcoming annual meeting tobe held in conjunction with the International Society of Biomechanics(ISB) meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, August 1 - 5. Working with the ISB,ASB has arranged Thursday to be slotted as “ASB day” and ASB

Program Chair, Art Kuo, has developed an outstanding program. Seethe ISB meeting web site www.isb2005.org for all the details.

As many of you know ASB strives to recognize its members whohave presented outstanding work at the annual meeting. What youmay not know is that many of the awards (detailed in the previousNewsletter) allow for the awardees to submit and publish their workin an accelerated fashion to an international audience in the Journalof Biomechanics. Awardees should always take advantage of theseopportunities – publishing is a clear and concrete way to demonstratewhat you have accomplished. In upcoming journals be sure to keepa look-out for these ASB award winning studies. As an aside, theJournal of Biomechanics has now overcome a large backlog ofaccepted papers by expanding their issues; so those of you whohave been reading the Journal may have noticed recent publicationof ASB award winning studies in the April 2005 issue. These werethe awardees from the 2003 annual meeting.

In other news, the Executive Board has voted to change the StudentRepresentative position from a one-year position to a two-yearposition. The Board strongly believes that student interests andneeds are critical to the society, so extending the position a yearwould allow better representation for the students.

While on the topic of student interests and needs, I would like tohighlight the three recent ASB Regional Meetings specificallygeared towards students. In early November, the First Upper MidwestASB Regional Meeting was held in Minneapolis Minnesota. Thismeeting was organized by Joan E. Bechtold, Ph.D., MinneapolisMedical Research Foundation, Hennepin County Medical Center(HCMC), University of Minnesota and Donald D. Anderson, Ph.D.at The University of Iowa. In mid-April, the Southern CaliforniaMeeting, organized by Guillermo Noffal and Karen Perell was heldat California State University, Fullerton. David Nuckley, Ph.D.University of Washington and Andrew Karduna, Ph.D. Universityof Oregon organized the 1st Northwest Biomechanics StudentsSymposium in mid-May. I offer my sincere thanks to the organizersof these meetings and I would encourage more members to hold theirown meetings. ASB will help financially support these regionalmeetings so, please contact Steve McCaw if you are consideringorganizing your own meeting.

See you in Cleveland and don’t forget your blue suede dancingshoes!

Page 2 ASB Newsletter

Editorial BoardEditor/LayoutAndy Kardunakarduna@uoregon.edu

CalendarWilliam Ledouxwrledoux@u.washington.edu

AdvertisingMichelle SabickMSabick@boisestate.edu

In this issue ...page

President’s Report 1Secretary/Treasurer 3Students' Corner 3Notice for Student Members 5Book Review 6Education Committee 8Southern California Region Meeting 95th World Congress of Biomechanics 10Membership Committe 12Past President 12Souther n California Meeting 13Northwest Student Meeting 13Elections 14These Go To Eleven 17Y-ROBOTS Award 18Job Postings 18Calendar of Events 19

ASB NEWSLETTERvolume 17, number 2

Editors Note:

All previous ASB newsletter have been converted intopdf documents and are archived on the ASB website:

www.asb-biomech.org/newsletter

Newsletter AdvertisingThe Editorial Board invites various businesses andcorporations that have products or services of interest tomembers of the Society to advertise in the ASB Newsletter.Advertising space may also be purchased for job postings orother special announcements.

The current advertising rates are as follows:

1/4 page $1001/2 page $200full page $400back page $600separate insert $600

If you are interested in learning more about advertising in theASB newsletter, please email Michelle Sabick atMSabick@boisestate.edu.

Graduate ProgramsThe ASB maintains an on-line database of universities andcolleges with graduate programs in biomechanics. The databaseis organized alphabetically by country and state and currentlyincludes more than 70 institutions from Canada, the UnitedKingdom, and 32 different states within the US. This is a greatresource for undergraduate students who may be consideringgraduate school as well as for anyone who just wants to findout what’s going on at other institutions.

Is your institution included in the database? If not, newinformation can be sent to Kathy Simpson at the University ofGeorgia via email: ksimpson@uga.edu. Because the informationcontained in these listings may gradually become outdated asequipment and personnel at laboratories change over time, allinstitutions are encouraged to review and update theirinformation periodically.

New and updated program information can be transmitteddirectly via e-mail. Alternatively, an online form can be used tosubmit updated graduate program details.

The graduate program database can be accessed through theSociety's homepage at: www.asb-biomech.org

ASB InvolvementIf you are interested in becoming more active in the Society(e.g., serving on a committee or chairing a conference session),contact Steve McCaw (smccaw@ilstu.edu), EducationCommittee Chair with your name, address, phone/fax number,email address, and your desired involvment. This informationwill be included in a data base which is periodically updatedand distributed to the Executive Board.

Volume 18, No. 1 Page 3

Secretary/TreasurerDon Anderson

Student’s CornerMelissa Scott-Pandorf

Greetings ASB student members! I hope everyone stayed afloat duringthe busy spring semester and came out with stories of success. With allthe signs of summer around us, we know that the ASB/ISB meeting isquickly approaching. There is a full week of events planned for this year’smeeting that promises many wonderful opportunities. In keeping withASB’s mission to foster the student members of the society, specificstudent events that are planned for the meeting include the Women InScience Breakfast, the ASB Mentor Program, the Student Luncheon anda Student Night Out.

The Women In Science Breakfast will continue for the second year. Dueto last year’s outstanding attendance, we have asked for a larger room.For those that were unable to attend or are new to ASB, the Women inScience Breakfast was established to build networking between youngfemale scientists and senior scientists. It offers informal opportunitiesfor discussion on balancing a family and work, the challenges of being awoman in a male dominant profession, and career path choices. A possiblediscussion topic for this year’s meeting is how to keep females activewithin ASB following graduation.

In addition to its normal agenda, the Student Luncheon will include a panelof established scientists who will be discussing career paths in biomechanics.Students will be able to ask questions such as the number of publicationsneeded for success and the requirements for working in academia orindustry.

The ISB student representative and I are working on an optional NightOut around midweek of the conference for all student members of ISBand ASB. It will be a chance for students to get together in an informalenvironment and take in the sights of Cleveland. Students will have theopportunity to hear stories about life in other laboratories and makefuture research collaborations. Possible gathering places are located at“The Flats”, a popular entertainment area in Cleveland.

The mentor program will continue due to reports of great successfollowing last year’s meeting. The mentor program was established in2004 to encourage interaction between senior scientists and the studentmembers by pairing students and scientists with similar interests.Current ASB student members are welcome to participate in the program.This experience is meant to build the student’s professional network andpromote discussion of their research and career directions. Moreinformation on the mentor program is listed in on the ASB website(www.asb-biomech.org/student). Students signed up for the programshould be receiving information on their mentor matches in July. Thisyear, students and mentors will also receive suggestions or ideas fromprevious participants for increasing their interaction throughout themeeting. Future intentions for 2006 will be to create a system wherestudents can select whether they want to be paired with a doctoral studentor senior scientist in the hopes that doctoral students will gain experiencein mentoring to further the program in the future.

If you have any suggestions or comments that you feel will improve theinteraction within ASB, please contact me via email(mmscott@mail.unomaha.edu). For further details on event plans for theISB/ASB meeting visit the ASB website (http://asb-biomech.org).

Ah, what to report? That is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler… Oh,whatever – here’s the news that I deem fit to pass along.

We have nearly reached the end of our “fund-drive” part of the year. Wehave received membership renewals from 528 members (421 regular, 100students, 7 emeritus), and I just mailed out one last plea (to which myresponse was about 20 or 30 “undeliverable” replies). If you know, oreven suspect that you may not have yet renewed your membership,please let me know by e-mail or phone. I would like to get this taken careof before next year’s drive starts. And if you wouldn’t mind, everyoneplease try to keep me current on your e-mail address. Thanks.

New members who are receiving this newsletter – let me apologize fornot having mailed many of you your membership certificate, yet. Thatis next on my list. Please accept my sincere welcome to the ASB.

We have now officially closed the Seattle Branch of the Secretary/Treasurer’s office. (I received a shipment of about 15 boxes of “archival”materials. I have that down to about 6 boxes of truly archival stuff.) Asof May 1, funds in our cash accounts totaled $43,645.83. In ourinvestments portfolio, we have $125,712.33. Members often rightly askus why we have so much money in an investments portfolio. Well, letme take a shot at explaining this.

Consider a scenario in which an annual meeting had to be cancelled at thelast minute, with financial commitments made which we were obligatedto honor. Absent registration dollars to offset those bills, we would needto reach deep into our reserves. In this case, our investments portfoliowould serve to bail out the society, effectively buying a year for themembership to decide what to do next. This is the purpose for which themajority of our investments portfolio is set up. A secondary focus of ourinvestments is on growing a small endowment to provide award funds forthe Hay Award in perpetuity. This segment of the investments (around$13,000) is managed in a separate fund.

A goal that I have set for my term as S/T is that we move from the currentpaper-based invoicing system to an online payment system, wherebymembers renewing their membership take greater responsibility in thepayment process. In the best-case, this would mean about an equivalentamount of work each year for the members, and a lot less work on the partof the S/T office. (With that saved time, I could be mailing out new membercertificates…).

Finally, I want to alert the membership to a percolating issue regardingsales tax on journal subscriptions. I have been contacted multiple timesby Publishers and others, seeking for clarification from me regarding ASBtax-exempt status. While we are indeed a 501(c)3 organization, I havesome work to do to prove to myself that means we legitimately do notowe sales tax on our subscriptions. There are signs in the air that our nothaving to pay sales tax may go away one day soon. At such time, it mightmake sense to re-evaluate whether or not the society desires to continueserving as a journal subscription clearinghouse, effectively placing theSecretary/Treasurer as a go-between journal publishers and themembership. Obviously, this will be a topic of discussion for theExecutive Board to ponder in the near future.

Well, that’s all for now. Have a great summer.

Page 4 ASB Newsletter

PresidentJ.J. Trey CriscoBrown Medical School/Rhode Island HospitalDepartment of OrthopaedicsCoro West, Suite 404Providence, RI 02903Phone: (401) 444-4231 Fax: (401) 444-4418Email: joseph_crisco@brown.edu

Past-PresidentWalter HerzogUniversity of CalgaryFaculty of KinesiologyCalgary, AB T2N 1N4 CANADAPhone: (403) 220-8525 Fax: (403) 284-3553Email: walter@kin.ucalgary.ca

President-ElectTed GrossUniversity of WashingtonDepartment of Orthopaedics and Sports MedicineSeattle, WA 98104Phone: (206) 341-5604 Fax: (206) 341-5611Email: tgross@u.washington.edu

Secretary/TreasurerDon AndersonUniversity of IowaDepartment of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation2182 WestlawnIowa City, IA 52242Phone: (319) 335-8135 Fax: (319) 335-7530Email: don-anderson@uiowa.edu

Program ChairpersonArt KuoUniversity of MichiganDepartment of Mechanical EngineeringAnn Arbor, MI 48109Phone: (734) 647-2505 Fax: (734) 615-0430Email: artkuo@umich.edu

Program Chairperson-ElectIrene DavisUniversity of DelawareDepartment of Physical Therapy305 McKinly LabNewark, DE 19716Phone: (302) 831-4263 Fax: (302) 831-2430Email: mcclay@udel.edu

Membership Committee ChairpersonJulianne Abendroth-SmithWillamette UniversityDepartment of Exercise ScienceSalem, OR 97301Phone: (503) 370-6423 Fax: (503) 370-6379Email: jabendro@willamette.edu

Education Committee ChairpersonSteven McCawIllinois State UniversitySchool of Kinesiology and Recreation5120 Illinois State UniversityNormal, IL 61790Phone: (309) 438-3804 Fax: (309) 438-5559Email:smccaw@ilstu.edu

Communications Committee ChairpersonKathy SimpsonUniversity of GeorgiaDepartment of Exercise ScienceAthens, GA 30602Phone: (706) 542-4385 Fax: (706) 542-3148Email: ksimpson@uga.edu

Newsletter EditorAndy KardunaUniversity of OregonDepartment of Human PhysiologyEugene, OR 97403Phone: (541)346-0438 Fax: (541) 346-2841Email: karduna@uoregon.edu

Student RepresentativeMelissa Scott-PandorfUniversity of Nebraska–OmahaHPER Biomechanics LaboratoryOmaha, Nebraska 68182Phone: (402) 554-2670 Fax: (402) 554-3693Email: mmscott@mail.unomaha.edu

ASB Executive Board 2004–2005

Volume 18, No. 1 Page 5

Dear ASB Student Member,

The Executive Board of the American Society ofBiomechanics, acting on behalf of the ASB membership,has decided to provide financial assistance to any of youwho attend this summer's Annual Meeting. As you nodoubt already know, the meeting is being held in conjunctionwith the XXth Congress of the International Society ofBiomechanics in Cleveland, July 31-August 5th thissummer. The ASB/ISB student member early registrationfee is $225, and we will refund $50 of that amountfollowing your attendance at the meeting. We believe thatthis meeting is too good of an opportunity for students topass up, but that because it is coupled with the Congress,it is much larger and longer, hence more expensive. Wedon't want that to stand in the way of you deciding to cometo Cleveland.

ASB Executive Board

Here's what you need to do to receive the $50 check fromASB:

-- Be a paid ASB student member by July 25, 2005(deadline for applications to membership committee isJune 20th).

-- Register for, and attend the meeting (if you don't registerby May 30th, registration increases $50, to $275).

-- Present to me (by e-mail, fax, or postal mail) a copy ofyour registration receipt by September 1, 2005.

That's all it takes. So start making your plans to attend,now, by visiting the Meeting site at www.isb2005.org .And register for the meeting while you're there.

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Page 6 ASB Newsletter

obese persons and patients with multiple sclerosis areincluded. Those biomechanical topics are of even moreinterest today. Like Muybridge’s career, this book windsdown rather suddenly. After highly productive stints atStanford and then in Philadelphia he produced little thereafter,due in part to various personal eccentricities and turns ofevents.

Although Picturing Time is mostly about Marey, just threepages into the introduction it attacks the notion of Muybridgebeing a scientist. Braun states that Muybridge’s images“give us no way to measure anything real” and are “notscientific depictions of movement, but fictions”. Indeed,Muybridge’s images are illusory. They often feature a gridbackground, but with no way of calibrating the distances inthe plane of motion. Moreover, when capturing locomotion,Muybridge used multiple cameras triggered at equal pointsin space but not time. But it is our own fault for convertingthese images in our mind to a motion picture. Fortunately,Picturing Time does not dwell too long on bashingMuybridge. Rather Braun extensively follows the career ofMarey from cardiovascular physiologist to musclephysiologist to locomotion biomechanist, to exercisephysiologist and ergonomist. Along the way, we getsnippets of Marey’s persona, but only fleetingly becauseMarey’s personal records were destroyed after his death.Fortunately, the reader does get wonderful depictions ofMarey’s apparatus, much of which he invented himself. Ireally loved the pictures of his pneumatic force platforms.Picturing Time is also extensively referenced so that thereader could investigate more in detail. Since Braun coversthe photographic motion capturing aspects of both Mareyand Muybridge it is much more comprehensive if lessdetailed and with more advocacy than Time Stands Still.

Speaking of advocacy, by its very title, A Passion for theTrace, gives away that it is not an objective look at the lifeof Marey. Lacking much concrete detail on the personallife of Marey, Dagognet seems to make it up. At first, heportrays a dualistic Marey, the internal Marey vs. theexternal Marey. His strongest evidence for the duality isthat Marey preferred to winter in Naples rather than Parisand that early in his life Marey went by Jules-Etienne andthen later Etienne-Jules. Then, after making the case fortwo, Dagognet presents three Mareys, one for each phaseof his scientific career. More grandiose, Dagognet presentshis thesis that Marey transformed science, art and industry.In this version of history, Muybridge is relegated to being atertiary technician who was hired by Stanford after he readMarey’s books. Marey is also credited with beinginstrumental in the development of the airplane because oneof his colleagues made a small model plane powered by

While many others have been noting the centenary ofEinstein’s magnificent 1905 year in Physics, I have beenreading about two characters from the 19th century historyof biomechanics. Like Einstein, Muybridge and Mareywere also interested in understanding time and space.Muybridge is best known to biomechanists for hisphotographs of horses and other animals during locomotionand the premier award of the International Society ofBiomechanics is named the Muybridge Medal. Marey isless well known to biomechanists, despite his being muchmore of a scientist than Muybridge. But to understandMarey, one must appreciate Muybridge also.

I will discuss three books. The most recent is Time StandsStill; Muybridge and the Instantaneous PhotographyMovement by Phillip Prodger. Complementing that book,are two semi-recent books about Etienne-Jules Marey:Picturing Time by Marta Braun and Etienne-Jules Marey:A Passion for the Trace by Francois Dagognet. I thank mytwo French colleagues, Drs. Belli and Morin for the kind giftof the latter book.

Time Stands Still was published to accompany an exhibitionof photographic art from the 1839-1878. The touringexhibition was developed at Stanford University.“Instantaneous” photography refers to the substantialimprovements in the sensitivity of photographic plates andthe ensuing increase in shutter speed. Previously, photographyrequired that the object being captured remain almostmotionless. The goal of this book was to highlight the artisticvision of Muybridge and his contemporaries. While itprovides some biographical vignettes and some technicalissues about photography, the author points to bettertreatments of those two topics in other books. The first 100pages or so are very much art history. Nonetheless, theyare beautifully illustrated and the quality of the imagesthroughout the book is excellent. Even the author himselfcannot help but note the inordinate number of nude femalefigures that Muybridge chose to photograph. Defensively,he notes that the images are “erotic… but never prurient”.By today’s standards, Muybridge’s images of womenunfastening their corsets are rather tame. The second halfof the book would be of most interest to locomotionbiomechanists. Photographs from Marey and the muchlesser known Eakins and Anschutz complement theMuybridge images. Along with a menagerie of species,Muybridge photographs documenting the movements of

Book ReviewRodger Kram

Volume 18, No. 1 Page 7

compressed air driven propellers. Despite the psycho-babble and exaggeration, A Passion for the Trace doespresent a well structured analysis of the important influenceof Marey on modern scientific thinking. Marey was firstand foremost a proponent of mechanistic thinking amongthe vitalists of the time. Vitalism was/is the belief that lifecan not be understood from chemical-physical-biologicalanalysis. Second, Marey was adamant about creatingphysiological and biomechanical recording devices that didnot alter the function being studied. He made incredibleinstruments and recordings in an age that barely hadelectricity let alone electronics. Third, Marey insisted onverifying his observations by creating physical models of thesystems he studied. At today’s ASB meeting, Marey wouldmore likely use computer models to verify his experimentalresults but the philosophy is the same, measure and verify.

To sum up, if I had to recommend just one book for abiomechanist, it would surely be Picturing Time. It coversmuch of the material that A Passion for the Trace, butmore objectively with less hero worship and more science.Time Stands Still is much more of an art book, which is onlyappropriate since Muybridge was first and foremost anartist/photographer.

All three are in print and available from on-line booksellersand in many libraries:

Prodger, Phillip. Time Stands Still; Muybridge and theInstantaneous Photography Movement. Oxford Univ.Press, 2003.

Braun, Marta. Picturing Time. Univ. of Chicago Press,1992.

Dagognet, Francois. Etienne-Jules Marey: A Passion forthe Trace. MIT Press, 1992.

Page 8 ASB Newsletter

Education CommitteeSteve McCaw

Driving home from hockey one late night last February, in additionto getting razzed for my wayward passes, dubious playmakingstrategies and less than cannonading slapshot, my two teammateswho carpool the 80 mile roundtrip trek from Normal to Pekin everySunday night asked me about the ASB Executive Board held theprevious weekend in Boulder (I think they noticed my absencebecause our team won). My traveling companions, who know memostly for my ability to give up the puck and a fondness for anobscure radio station playing esoteric music (try wwhp.com, youmight like it) when it is my turn to drive, were intrigued to think thatI actually hung around with “real scientists.” Arriving early inBoulder for the meeting, I had been given a tour of the HumanPhysiology Labs and current research projects at the Universityof Colorado (special thanks to Dr. Evangelos Christos and Dr.Roger Enoka for their hospitality), and was later updated on theresearch projects of fellow Executive Board members. These Idescribed to my teammates, both of whom work in the insurancecompanies that dominate the Normal economy. It reminded me,riding home in the dark and listening to their envious commentsregarding the dynamic environment in which I get to work, of howgrateful I should be for the teaching, research and serviceopportunities available to me as a biomechanist. If you ever getthe doldrums regarding your career choice, compare it to mostalternatives and you will soon regain an appreciation of your nichein life.

ASB Graduate Student Grant-in-Aid ProgramThe Grant-in-Aid program makes available to graduate studentsmoney to support research endeavors conducted as part of adegree program. In January, thirteen applications were receivedand sent for review by the education committee (Becky Zifchock(student member), Irene Davis, Loren Maletsky and JeanieMcCrory). ASB is pleased to announce funding to the followingfive applicants (titles in parentheses): Cort J. Cieminski, Universityof Minnesota (Factors affecting range of motion of the shoulderduring internal rotation); Rachael Crabb, University of Minnesota(Macroscopic biomechanical and optical properties of the stromalequivalent); Stephanie J. Crenshaw, University of Delaware (Gaitvariability and stability of people with multiple sclerosis);Christopher J. Hasson, University of Massachusetts (Coordinationof mono- and biarticular muscles in the learning of a novel force-directing task); Staci M. Stevens, University of Toledo (Kneeextensor torque and muscle fatigue following ACL injury). Thesociety looks forward to seeing results of the funded projectspresented at the ASB meeting in 2006. The next submissiondeadline is January 15, 2006. Watch the ASB website and the fallnewsletter for details on next years Grant in Aid program.

Important update on ASB Student Travel AwardsIn the past, ASB student travel funds were awarded to individualstudents attending the annual meeting. The available funds were

divided up among the successful applicants, with 28 studentsreceiving awards for Portland. However, with the recently adoptedpolicy of ASB to subsidize registration costs for all studentsattending the annual meeting, it was decided by the ExecutiveBoard to incorporate the funds previously allocated to the studenttravel awards into the pool of money used to reduce studentregistration costs (including Cleveland - see page 5).

ASB Mentor program in ClevelandFollowing the initiative of former ASB president Joan Bechtoldand former ASB student representative Max Kurz, a mentorprogram was instituted at the Portland ASB meeting. This programallows a student member of ASB to be linked with a mentor whois a full member of the society during the meeting. The intent is thatthe student and mentor will meet on several occasions, providingthe student with the opportunity to get sage advice regarding allaspects of a career in biomechanics. The success of the programin Portland (35 mentor pairs established) was such that theprogram will be tried again in Cleveland. The majority of participantsenjoyed the program, and I encourage all students to take advantageof the opportunity this program offers, and encourage all ASBmembers to volunteer to serve as a mentor. Student representativeMelissa Scott-Pandorf will coordinate the program; additionaldetails are available in her column and at the ASB website.

Tutorials/Workshops at future ASB meetingsSince this year’s meeting will be held in conjunction with ISB, andthe ISB organizers are responsible for tutorials, the educationcommittee has not had to arrange tutorials for 2005. It is not tooearly to plan, however, and so I welcome your submission ofnames and/or topics of potential tutorials for 2006, and remind youthat if your idea is adopted you will receive a complimentaryregistration for the 2006 meeting.

On-line Evaluation of the 2004 Portland ASB meetingFor the first time, the evaluation of the annual meeting wasconducted all on-line. In spite of a few glitches, over 100 evaluationswere received. In general, attendees were happy with all aspectsof the meeting, with the most-frequently reported complaint theneed for increased availability of drinking water throughout thevenue and more vegetarian meals. And if that is all attendees haveto complain about, we can consider the 2004 meeting a greatsuccess. The tutorials by Rick Lieber and Walter Herzog werehighly praised, and the majority of attendees were very satisfiedwith the keynote speakers and sessions focused on their area ofspecialty. It must be remembered that MEMBERS are responsiblefor the quality and quantity of presentations in their area, not theorganizers of a meeting or the ASB. If you want to see more oralor poster presentations, encourage your colleagues to submit toand attend the meeting. The ASB supports all disciplines withkeynote speakers and specialized awards, so it is up to themembership to ensure that the program is of the highest quality.

Regarding the abstract review process, the general consensus ofthe evaluation respondents was that since meetings provide anopportunity for discussion and interaction, conference organizersshould err on the side of letting in too many rather than too few

Volume 18, No. 1 Page 9

Program CommitteeSteve Robinovitch

presentations. This point is directly related to the quality of thescience that will be available at the annual meeting, and I welcomeyour comments and opinions of the review/acceptance policy ofthe ASB. All comments at any time are appreciated and are passedon to the organizers of future meetings, so we do not expect thatthe Cleveland meeting will be marred by irate, dehydratedvegetarians demonstrating during the poster sessions.

Happy Update: Regional Student MeetingsThe interest in hosting the popular regional student meetingscontinues to grow. In addition to the November 2004 meeting inMinnesota and the California meeting in April, the ASB is pleasedto provide support for the 1st Northwest Biomechanics StudentsSymposium, which was held at the University of Washington,Seattle on May 13-14, 2005. If you are interested in hosting an ASBsupported Regional Student Meeting, see the application detailsat the ASB website or contact me directly. The ASB has limits onfunding available for any one regional meeting, but is committedto providing as much support as feasible. The format of a studentmeeting is whatever will work. There are no deadlines forapplications, so don’t worry about missing one. Host one, you’lllike it.

Topical Section: Enhancing your PresentationAs this is being written, the organizers of the Cleveland meetingare distributing the abstract review decisions. Those with acceptedabstracts will be formulating their presentations. While there aremany spots on the web that provide guidelines for “successfulpresentations” (search “presentation hints”), let me use thisopportunity to emphasize three hints that, if adhered to, willenhance at least my personal experience at a meeting.

1) Use slide colors that actually provide a contrast when yourpresentation is printed or projected (note the italics). What looksgood on the 19 inch screen in your office often bleaches out when

projected to 20 feet high by 30 feet wide. While this might be usefulif the lines on your graphs don’t show the magnitude of differencebetween conditions you had hoped for, allowing you to use a laserpointer to bamboozle the crowd with freehand renditions of thedata lines, it is matched in attendee annoyance level by few otherpresentation faux pas.

2) Avoid having to apologize for a complicated slide. If your firstimpulse, as the presenter, is to say “This slide is a little complicated,let me lead you through it”, the slide is too complicated and needsto be made less complicated so that attendees will actually getsomething from it. This error is aggravated when the presenteronly points out part of the information on the slide, whether theslides contains a figure with too many unnecessary bars and/orlines, or, one of the most annoying presentation errors of all, a vastmatrix of values listed in an incomprehensible table or tables. Theadage that “a picture is worth a thousand words” does not meanthat “a thousand pictures are worth a million words”.

3) Poster presentations should not include an entire writtenmanuscript. Watch attendees at the poster sessions. They walkthrough the aisles, reading the titles and quickly skimming throughthe content of the poster. If the poster is of interest, a viewer willstop and read more thoroughly. The great utility of a postersession is the opportunity it provides for interaction between thepresenter and the interested reader. To me, the conversationsprovoked by the poster are as, or more, valuable than the contentof the poster. Provide only the most critical aspects of thebackground to the problem and the methods; details can be filledin during conversation. Clearly presented results, with graphspreferred to tables and bulleted lists highlighting the key points,should be legible from at least 10 feet away. The discussion andimplications should also be presented as short sentence bullets.Reduced content posters will probably increase the amount ofdiscussion provoked with attendees.

Nothing like a little rant on a cool and cloudy supposedly springday. I feel better already. See you in Cleveland. Bring a colleagueand a student.

“...we do not expect thatthe Cleveland meetingwill be marred by irate,dehydrated vegetariansdemonstrating during theposter sessions.”

Page 10 ASB Newsletter

Munich, Germany - July 29th-August 4th 2006

IncorporatingThe 31st Congress of the Societé de BiomécaniqueThe 15th European Society of Biomechanics

First Call for Papers

The Scientific Organizing Committee of the 5th World Congressof Biomechanics is seeking original research and applicationpapers in the following areas:

Bone mechanicsBone healingBone as an organBone remodelingBone tissueOsteointegrationOsteoporosis

Musculoskeletal mechanicsCartilageDiscMuscle mechanicsTendons and ligamentsTissue adaptation and remodeling

Musculoskeletal systems and performanceGait analysisJoints - Hip, Knee, Upper extremityLocomotion and falls-

mechanisms, injuries and interventionsNeuromuscular controlSpine mechanics

Implants for trauma and orthopedicsHip endoprostheticsKnee endoprostheticsWearShoulder endoprostheticsTrauma implantsImplantable telemetry

Occupational and impact biomechanicsImpact injury biomechanicsVehicular biomechanics-safety, impact,

vehicular guidanceErgonomicsSpine kinematicsLow back painOccupational disorders, repetitive strain injuryRehabilitation mechanics

Sport biomechanicsDental mechanics

Bone implant interaction phenomenaBone and periodontal ligament

Dental implant mechanicsDental materials reliabilityImage processing and computer-aided presurgical

analysisMechanics and mechanobiology in orthodonticsDental device manufacturing and biomechanical reliabilityNumerical modelling in dental biomechanicsExperimental testing in dental biomechanics

Computational BiomechanicsComputer-assisted surgery

Navigation in orthopaedic surgeryNavigation in neurosurgeryRobotic systemsVascular surgerySurgical technologies

Tissue engineeringTissue and cell mechanobiologyBone tissue engineeringCartilage and ligament tissue engineeringEngineered vascularized organsLarge vessel tissue and cardiac valve engineering andvascular elasticityPlatform technologies in tissue engineering

Cellular and molecular mechanicsCell mechanicsCytoskeletal and membrane rheologyCell migration and molecular motor-MechanotransductionMolecular biomechanicsDNA and protein mechanicsMicrostructural modelling of cells

Artificial organsArtificial kidney and dialysisArtificial heart devicesArtificial circulatory assist devicesArtificial liverArtificial lungs and pulmonary assistance

BiomaterialsCharacterization of biomaterialsEndovascular materials

Respiratory mechanicsAirway liquid dynamicsParenchymal and whole lung mechanicsFlow through compliant airwaysPulmonary cell mechanicsWhole lung function measurement and control

Cardiovascular mechanicsCardiac mechanics and biologyCardiovascular function and controlTissue adaptation and remodellingCoronary circulation

5th World Congress of Biomechanics

Volume 18, No. 1 Page 11

Arterial or large vessel fluid mechanicsHeart valves and prosthesesVascular wall elasticityMechanobiology of vascular walls and cellsVascular implants and devicesComputational modellingFlow measurement and imagingCardiovascular disease

Microcirculation and BiorheologyCell-vascular wall interactions and cell adhesionBlood rheologyAngiogenesisGlycocalixMicrovascular fluid mechanics

Biomechanics in natureBionicsSwimming and flyingMicro organismsPlant biomechanicsTerrestrial locomotion

Brain and neural mechanicsCerebral aneurysmsPanta ReiImagingCerebro-spinal fluid

General biomechanicsBioheat transferBiological mass transport

Clean room technologyFlow-structure interactionsGeriatric mechanicsMicro-fluidic devicesPaediatric mechanicsBiomechanics of miscellaneous organs

Soft tissuesReproductive systemsEyesEarsSkinUrinary tract

The conference language will be English. Submissions to theCongress will be electronic and should consist of an extendedtwo page abstract.

At least one author of each accepted paper must register for andpresent the work at the Congress.

For more information please consult the Congress website atwww.wcb2006.org

Important DatesAbstract Submission Deadline January 30th, 2006Notification of Acceptance March 15th 2006Early registration Deadline May 1st 2006Congress Dates July 29th-August 4, 2006

Page 12 ASB Newsletter

Past PresidentWalter Herzog

As the past-president, I am chairing the awards committee and thenominating committee. Below I would like to briefly update you onthese two activities.

Awards Committee: The purpose of the awards committee is toselect the finalists and winners for the various awards that aregiven on an annual basis to individuals at the ASB conference.These awards can be grouped broadly into two categories: Awardsgiven to specific people who were nominated by their peers orsupervisors, and awards based on the abstract submission. Theformer awards include the Borelli Award, the Jim Hay MemorialAward, and the Pre- and Post-Doctoral Young Scientist Awards.The latter awards include the Journal of Biomechanics, the ClinicalBiomechanics and the Microstrain Award.

The awards committee has reviewed all applications for thenominated awards and the winners are given below. We have notyet received the abstracts from the ASB/ISB organizers; thereforethe abstract-dependent award winners could not be selected. Therecipients for the nominated awards are:

Borelli Award:Dr. Kai An (Mayo Clinic, Rochester)

Jim Hay Memorial Award:Dr. Mont Hubbard (University of California, Davis)

Pre-doctoral award:Kate Holzbaur (Stanford University)

Post-doctoral award:Stefan Duma (Virginia Tech)

Congratulations to all the winners. I would like to acknowledgethe awards committee members for all their help in the selectionprocess. These included: Ted Gross, Trey Crisco, James Ashton-Miller, Joan Bechtold, Julianne Abendroth-Smith, and MarkGrabiner.

Nominating Committee: The purpose of the nominating committeeis to select and propose to the membership candidates for specificpositions on the ASB executive board. This year, we were askingthe membership to propose people for president-elect and forprogram chair elect. Five candidates were nominated for eachposition, and after I contacted all candidates and made sure theywere willing to let their name stand, the nominating committeeselected two candidates for each position. The membership now

Membership CommitteeJulianne Abendroth-Smith

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest, though that may be acommon greeting this newsletter, since a few of the ExecutiveBoard are from out this way. As Membership Chair, I thought Iwould take the time to review our process for membership. We askthat potential members apply for acceptance, because we standby the philosophy that we are a research – based Society, and wewant members who actively participate in our group. Recentresearch publications, proceedings, abstracts, meetingpresentations, and meeting attendance are things we look for onthe applications.

We are working this year on speeding up the process for formerstudent members to become regular members, but it still is slowerthan I would like. Currently, all potential member applications aremailed out, four to five times a year, to the membership committee,who review the applicants, and then vote yea or nay. It is a timeconsuming process for all. However, I appreciate the time mycommittee has given to me and the Society.

Membership committee members currently include Lena Ting,Andrew Mahar, Christopher Hess, and Max Kurz. The committee(that has served since before I first came on as Chair) has nowfinished their three year commitment. I thank them for theirdiligence, patience, and time they gave to help out. These membersincluded Darryl Thelen, Kevin Granata, and Dan Ferris. AndrewMahar joined on the committee a year later, and so will stay anotheryear.

On that note, we all thank you for your patience in the process aswell. Many members or members-to-be are unaware of the fact thatwe are a volunteer driven organization. We elect and appointpositions on the Executive Board, but all of us who serve on theBoard volunteer our time and efforts. All of us have “full time dayjobs”, and none of us are paid. This of course, serves to keep ourcosts low, such as our membership dues, and student costs forconferences. However, in this day and age of instant messaging,we forget that everyone is busy with their jobs as well as ASBduties. So if we do not respond to you within a day, please bepatient.

Questions about becoming a member should be addressed to me.Once you are a member, fees and most questions are directed tothe Secretary/Treasurer, Don Anderson. He is the keeper ofcurrent memberships. If you have been inactive for more than 2-3 years, and wish to rejoin, then that gets sent back to me, and Iusually ask for an updated CV. If you still meet our criteria, you skipthe committee review and we welcome you back with open arms.If I have any questions, I send them out to my committee forconfirmation. That is the process in a nutshell.

We look forward to seeing many of you at our joint meeting thissummer in Cleveland, with ISB. I always like matching up all the

names that come across my desk, with actual faces! Remember, ifyou are interested in serving on any of the committees, or on theExecutive Board itself, plan on attending the ASB businessmeeting. It is the best way to become involved. We may be aresearch-based Society, but we are also one of the friendliest andmost fun Societies I have ever been associated with. Come andsee!

Volume 18, No. 1 Page 13

will vote which of the two candidates they would like to see as thepresident elect and program chair elect. Here are the candidates:

President elect:Dr. Kenton Kaufman (Mayo Clinic, Rochester)Dr. Steve McCaw (Illinois State University)

Program chair elect:Dr. John Chow (University of Florida, Gainesville)Dr. Francisco Valero-Cuevas (Cornell University)

On the next page, you will find short biographies for all thecandidates. Please review them carefully and then do not forgetto vote. I would like to acknowledge the elected members of thenominating committee who helped to get through the nominatingprocess efficiently, Tom Brown and Bob Gregor.

Northwest Student MeetingDavid Nuckley

Student learning, collaboration, and biomechanics researchadvancement took center stage at the first ASB NorthwestBiomechanics Symposium, held May 13-14, 2005 in Seattle. Therecent growth in biomechanics in the Northwest was underscoredby 91 participants from 14 different academic institutions andindustry gathering for a student centered meeting. The symposium,hosted by University of Washington, was marked by 20 podiumpresentations covering topics ranging from gait changes resultingfrom concussion to material properties of the spinal cord.Additionally, 11 students presented posters of their research inprogress. Anchoring the symposium and inspiring us all was theASB Keynote Address delivered by the 2005 Borelli Awardwinner, Dr. Kai-Nan An from the Mayo Clinic. Dr. An’s presentationdescribing the history and future of medical imaging in orthopedicbiomechanics engaged the community and stimulated an excellentexchange of ideas. Students, faculty, and industry engineersshared their experiences and ideas in small group discussionsfollowing each of the five student presentation sessions. Thesesmall group discussions facilitated collaboration, knowledgetransfer, and student learning. The first Northwest BiomechanicsSymposium Outstanding Student Award was presented to Ms.Eno Yliniemi for her research on “Dynamic Tensile Testing of theHuman Cervical Spine.” This symposium was possible becauseof a significant contribution from the American Society forBiomechanics and information about the meeting can be found athttp://depts.washington.edu/nwbs.

Stuents and faculty members exchanging ideas in Kane Hall at theUniversity of Washington

Southern California MeetingGuillermo Noffal

The 2005 Southern California Conference on Biomechanics (SCCB)was held April 22-23, 2005 at California State University, Fullerton.129 individuals attended the conference and heard eighteenpresentations by master’s and doctorate students representingsix laboratories from four universities. Abbie Ferris from CaliforniaState University, Pomona received the outstanding master’sstudent presentation award for her research, “Ground reactionforces of the equine forelimb during landing”. Richard Souza andShruti Arya, both from the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics ResearchLaboratory at the University of Southern California were co-recipients of the award for the outstanding doctorate studentpresentation. Richard’s research was titled, “The relationshipbetween femoral anteversion and frontal and transverse planefemoral segment kinematics and hip joint kinetics during a stepdown maneuver” and Shruti presented on the “Relationshipbetween achilles tendon stiffness and lower limb inter-segmentalstiffness in an individual with achilles tendinosis”. In addition tothe student presentations, the conference was highlighted by twokeynote addresses. On April 22, Dr. George Salem from theMusculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Laboratory at theUniversity of Southern California presented the SCCB KeynoteAddress, “Preserving physical function: biomechanics-basedintervention”. On April 23, Dr. Joseph Hamill from the School ofPublic Health and Health Sciences at the University ofMassachusetts Amherst gave the ASB Keynote Address,“Biomechanics of Athletic Footwear”. The abstracts from thestudent presentations can be read at the conference web site:http://hdcs.fullerton.edu/knes/sccbio/default.htm.

On behalf of the organizing and program committee members forthe SCCB, we thank the ASB for its generous support of regionalstudent conferences.

Page 14 ASB Newsletter

Francisco J Valero-Cuevas , Ph.D.

Francisco J Valero-Cuevas is an Assistant Professor in the SibleySchool of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at CornellUniversity where he is director of the Neuromuscular BiomechanicsLaboratory and Co-PI of the IGERT Program on Nonlinear Systems.He received a BS in Engineering from Swarthmore College inSwarthmore, PA, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’sUniversity in Kingston, Ontario, and a PhD in MechanicalEngineering from Stanford University. Dr. Valero-Cuevas’ researchinterests are focused on basic science and clinical studies ofhuman manipulation at the interface of neuroscience, engineering,mathematics and robotics. His current projects include the clinicalevaluation of manipulation, sensorimotor control strategies fordexterous function, predictive models of complex anatomicalsystems, and cortical activity for hand function. Dr. Valero-Cuevas is a member of biomechanics (ISB and ASB), neuroscience(SFN and NCM) and engineering (IEEE EMBS and ASME) societies.He has been elected to the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society,elected as a Faculty Mentor by the Sloan Foundation, is a Fellowof the Thomas J Watson Foundation, and honored with the Post-doctoral Young Scientist Award from ASB, the CAREER awardfrom NSF, and a Research Fellowship from the Alexander vonHumboldt Foundation. He serves as Associate Editor for the IEEETransactions on Biomedical Engineering, and is ad hoc reviewerfor numerous journals, including the Journal of Biomechanics.His objective as program chair is to bring into focus the usefulnessof current computational methods to biomechanics research, andto highlight the critical role biomechanics needs to play in across-scales integration of systems neuroscience with orthopedicbiomechanics and tissue engineering.

John W. Chow, Ph.D.

John Chow received his B.S. in Physical Education from SpringfieldCollege (in Massachusetts) and both of his master’s and Ph.D.degrees in Exercise Science from the University of Iowa. He iscurrently an Associate Professor and the director of theBiomechanics Laboratory in the Department of Applied Physiologyand Kinesiology, University of Florida. Over the years, John hasmade contributions to the field of biomechanics in cinematographic/videographic techniques, musculoskeletal modeling, andperformance characteristics of selected tennis strokes andwheelchair sports. In the last few years, he has expanded hisresearch interests to include injury-related and multi-disciplinaryresearch. His long-term goal is to apply the method ofmusculoskeletal modeling and principles of mechanics to addresspractical issues such as functional improvement, performanceenhancement, and injury prevention in the field of exercise/sportsmedicine and geriatric mobility. Specifically, he is interested in theeffect of corrective/enhancement interventions on biomechanicalcharacteristics during various functional activities. As secondaryresearch interests, he still involves in research related to wheelchairpropulsion and mechanics of tennis strokes. His current researchprojects are funded by the NIH, UF Opportunity Fund, and USTennis Association. In addition to research endeavors, he has leda NSF-funded project to develop web-based laboratory modulesfor biomechanics and movement coordination in the last few years(www.rimas.net). John is a fellow of the American College ofSports Medicine and currently serves on the Board of Directorsof the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports. He haspublished over 30 peer review articles and book chapters. Hepresented at 11 ASB/NACOB meetings since 1990 and served asan abstract reviewer for the ASB meetings in 2000 and 2004. Ifelected program chair, he will make every effort to maintain abalance in programming among different disciplines of the Society.He will be open to suggestions on how to improve/enhance theprogram of the annual meeting.

NOMINATIONS FOR OFFICE IN THE ASBHere are the biographical sketches provided by the candidates nominated to run. Please consider these sketches carefully as you vote.It is very important that the membership of our society take an active role in determining who will fill these positions. In early June, youshould receive voting instructions by e-mail. Please remember to VOTE AT THAT TIME. We will announce the results at the annualmeeting in Cleveland. If you do not receive an e-mail, please contact Don Anderson (contact information on page 3).

Candidates for Program Chair-Elect

Volume 18, No. 1 Page 15

Kent Kaufman, Ph.D.

Hello, I’m Ken Kaufman. I currently work as the Director of theBiomechanics Laboratory, Professor of Biomedical Engineering,and Consultant in the Departments of Orthopedic Surgery,Physiology and Biomedical Engineering at the Mayo Clinic. I amalso a registered professional engineer. I earned my Ph.D. degreein biomechanical engineering in 1988 as a combined program fromNorth Dakota State University and Mayo Clinic. My researchfocuses on the biomechanics of human movement. I am fundedby two grants from NIH. One is focused on developing atechnique to measure muscle force in-vivo. This is done incollaboration with Dr. Rick Lieber at UC-San Diego. The othergrant assesses the use of aerobic exercise for treatment of earlystages of osteoarthritis. Previously, I have conducted researchto decrease overuse injuries in military recruits and developed thecombat boots currently used by the U.S. Marine Corps. I havepublished over 80 scientific articles, 25 book chapters, and hold4 patents. I have been fortunate to receive several awardsincluding the Excellence in Research Award in 1989 and theO’Donoghue Sports Injury Research Award in 1993 from theAmerican Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, the ClinicalResearch Award from the American Academy of OrthopedicSurgeons in 1996, and Best Scientific Paper Awards from the Gaitand Clinical Movement Analysis Society in 1999 and 2002. Mywork has also been cited in the Washington Post, PreventiveMedicine, Men’s Health, and WebMD. I was elected as a Fellowin the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineeringin 2002. I have served our profession in a number of ways. I amon the editorial boards of Gait and Posture and the Journal ofApplied Biomechanics. I have served as a grant reviewer for NIHsince 1993 as well as for NIDRR, CDC and the VA. I was on theWorking Group on Injury Prevention of the Armed ForcesEpidemiological Board from 1994-95, the Expert Panel onConditioning Exercises for Naval Special Warfare Personnel in1994, the Expert Panel on the Evaluation of the United StatesMarine Corps (USMC) Recruit Training Program in 1994, and theExpert Panel for Microprocessor-Controlled Knee Prostheses atWalter Reed Army Medical Center in 2003. I attended my firstASB meeting in 1989, when I won the Young Investigator Awardand have been active in the society since then. I served on theGraduate Student Grant-in-Aid Committee from 1998 to 2000 andthen served on the Awards Committee in 2001. Most recently, ICo-Chaired the 1st Upper Midwest Student Regional Meeting inMinneapolis, MN. I strongly believe that nurturing students toattend and present at the ASB meeting is the key to future growthof the society. There needs to be continued support for theregional meetings to achieve this goal. I treasure the inter-disciplinary nature of the society and enjoy learning about theunique applications of biomechanics at our annual meeting. Ifelected President, I would be able to bring experience to theposition, since I have previously served as the President of theGait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society from 2001-2002.

Steve McCaw, Ph.D.

I am a professor in the School of Kinesiology and Recreation atIllinois State University, the only job I have held since earning mydoctorate from the University of Oregon in 1989. My undergraduatedegree is in Physical and Health Education from LakeheadUniversity, Thunder Bay, Canada, and my masters degree is inBiomechanics from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. I teach6-9 hours per semester at ISU, and serve as the Graduate ProgramCoordinator for our 85 graduate students. My research programis modest compared to many in ASB, and includes publicationsin the Journal of Biomechanics, Medicine and Science in Sportsand Exercise, Research Quarterly, and Journal of Strength andConditioning Research. Instrumentation used in my researchwas funded through the National Science FoundationInstrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Program, andregular funding from the Illinois Association for Health, PhysicalEducation, Recreation and Dance allows for laboratory support ofundergraduate and graduate students through stipends andconference travel. I have served as chair on over 30 masters thesesat ISU, and am extremely proud that four of these students havegone on to pursue doctoral degrees. My service leadership isextensive, including an Associate Editor role with Medicine andScience in Sports and Exercise, the Executive Board of theBiomechanics Interest Group of the American College of SportsMedicine, and, most relevant to my qualifications to serve as ASBpresident, three years as the Education Committee Chair of ASB.In this latter role, I worked with the Executive Board to reinvigoratethe Grant in Aid (GIA) program and to increase the number ofStudent Research Meetings supported by ASB. As chair, I haveworked with outstanding ASB student representatives to introducethe mentoring program at the annual ASB meeting, enhance thestudent luncheon, and to ensure the ASB meeting provides the“most bang for the lowest buck” of all professional biomechanicsmeetings by minimizing student registration costs. My objectiveif elected president is to continue working to make ASB the societyof choice for biomechanists. This would include further enhancingthe student experience to develop loyalty to the society, andworking to maintain the strength of ASB through its diversemembership and the availability of interdisciplinary offerings.

Candidates for President-Elect

Page 16 ASB Newsletter

AnyBody is a software system for modeling the mechanics of the human body. It computes forces in individual muscles, joint forces, elastic energy in

tendons, antagonistic muscle actions, and many other useful properties of

the working human body.

And most important of all: Using standard inverse and inverse-inverse dynamics AnyBody can handle models with

hundreds of muscles on ordinary personal computers. This ability alone makes AnyBody unique.

AnyBody models not just the body, but also the objects

it interfaces to; the seat and the crank mechanism of a

bicycle, the floor during gait, the backrest and foot support of a chair, the steering wheel and gearshift

of a car. With AnyBody, you can investigate in detail the ergonomic consequences of design

parameters.

Free demo licenses are available. Demo licenses have full functionality but a limited duration.

Join our free web casts:

May 24, 2005: Getting Started with the AnyBody Modeling System, or June 21, 2005: Gait Modeling

For more information, please visit www.anybodytech.com or email anybody@anybodytech.com.

AnyBody Technology A/S • Niels Jernes Vej 10 • DK-9220 Aalborg East • Denmark Tel: +45 9635 4286 • Fax: +45 9635 4599

Volume 18, No. 1 Page 17

These Go to ElevenAndy Karduna

Got Biomechanics?

What is the best way to get information about biomechanics? Formost of us, the answer is probably from colleagues, books, journalarticles, classes and the like. However, what about the rest of theworld? I suspect that an increasingly large percentage use theinternet. That’s probably the first place I would probably go if Iwanted to find out something about a topic new to me. So whatdoes that get you? Type biomechanics into Google and you endup with about 1.6 millions hits. There it is, right there on yourcomputer screen, everything biomechanics – journals, books,companies, jobs, classes, research labs, conferences, degreeprograms, societies and of course, the ubiquitous sponsored linkto eBay. You can find information on traditional biomechanicsdisciplines, as well as some less traditional ones, such as hoofbiomechanics, plant biomechanics, silk biomechanics, soilbiomechanics, cockroach biomechanics, dinosaur biomechanics,fossil biomechanics and even theatre biomechanics.

Certainly, this much information would give a person a reasonableapproximation of what the field of biomechanics is all about. Butis good information? I was actually surprised to find out that manyof these pages contain links to university research laboratories.So maybe despite the concerns of our campus librarians, searcheslike Google might actually be a good starting place for gettinginformation.

Another place to go would be peer review publications, arguablythe most accurate information on biomechanics. So we can cruiseon over to NIH’s free PubMed site, type in biomechanics, and berewarded with over 450,000 articles. Unfortunately, if you are notaffiliated with a university that has on-line subscriptions to thesejournals, you probably have access to less than 10% of thesearticles from your computer. So unless you are interested in a tripto the local biomedical library, your information is quite limited.(Even for some of us at research universities, our on-line accessis quite limited, but that is a topic for another day.)

What’s next? You can always go to Amazon.com and order oneof the 536 books that result from a search of biomechanics. Withthe exception of texts like HR Giger’s Biomechanics, most of whatcomes up are textbooks that we would use in our classes. So thisis actually a pretty good option, if you are willing to spend themoney and take the time to read the material (a problem that I havewith my own students). Another approach would be to use oneof the many on-line medical sites, like WebMD or medicineNet.com,where there is some information, but not much.

So maybe Google is the best place to send someone if they wantto find out a little more about biomechanics. And just in caseanyone is interested, Google is currently trading at $228 a share.

Page 18 ASB Newsletter

RESEARCH FELLOW – DEPT OF MECHANICALENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE TheDepartment of Mechanical Engineering at The University ofMelbourne has an immediate opening for a Research Fellow in thearea of Computational Biomechanics. The appointee will have aPhD in mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, or arelated field, and will carry out research on advanced computationalmodeling and simulation of human gait. The position is part of anew Center of Excellence in Clinical Gait Analysis based inMelbourne, and it represents an excellent opportunity to applystate-of-the-art techniques in computational modeling to clinicalproblems related to gait. The successful candidate must be ableto demonstrate knowledge and experience in the areas of dynamicsystems, control theory, and numerical modelling and simulation.Experience in Fortran, C, and Matlab programming is highlydesirable. Excellent oral and written communication skills arerequired. Salary and benefits are commensurate with experience.Please forward applications to Ms. Dillan Golightly c/o ProfessorMarcus Pandy, Department of Mechanical and ManufacturingEngineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010,AUSTRALIA or by email to dillang@unimelb.edu.au

Jobs Postings

Commercial Members

Commercial membership categories are aimed at encouragingaffiliation by commercial organizations that market productswhich are used by the biomechanics research community, orcompanies that are otherwise engaged in activities that fall withinthe Society's general interest areas. Based on the level of financialsupport required and upon benefits provided, commercialmembership categories in decreasing order are Sustaining Member,Supporting Member, Contributing Member, and CorporateMember. Companies wishing to become a Commercial Memberare encouraged to contact Julianne Abendroth-Smith,Membership Committee Chairperson. The ASB Executive Boardis pleased to recognize:

CORPORATE MEMBERS

Aircast

DePuy

Orthofix, S.R.L.

Peak Performance Technologies, Inc.

Tekscan, Inc.

Y-ROBOTS AwardSavio L-Y Woo

The International Centre of Orthopaedic Research, Education andTreatment (I.C.O.R.E.T.) is pleased to announce a special award foryoung researchers of orthopaedics, biomechanics/biology,operative techniques, and sports – the Y-ROBOTS Award.Manuscripts in the areas of orthopaedic biomechanics, orthopaedicbiology, operative techniques in orthopaedics or sports medicineare being accepted for consideration of this outstanding researchaward. The first author must be less than 40 years or within no morethan 8 years after his/her last academic degree (Ph.D. or M.D.) atthe time of submission.

All applications will be reviewed and up to ten (10) finalists will beselected and invited for presentation at the 9th InternationalConference on Orthopaedics, Biomechanics, Sports Rehabilitationin Assisi/Perugia, Italy, between 11-13 November 2005. Thewinner of the Y-ROBOTS Award will be selected following thepresentations by the finalists.

The award consists of a cash prize of 5.000,00 Euro, an awardcertificate and consideration for publication in Knee Surgery,Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy after the peer review process.The deadline for receipt of manuscripts will be October 1, 2005.Six (6) copies of the completed application and manuscript shouldbe submitted to:

Savio L-Y. Woo, Ph.D.c/o Let People MoveVia G.G. Pontani, 906128 Perugia – ItalyPhone: 011-39-075-500-3956Fax: 011-39-075-501-0921Email: letpeoplemove@tin.itWebsite: www.letpeoplemove.com

The Members of the Award Committee are Savio L-Y. Woo, Ph.D.(Chair), Giuliano Cerulli, M.D., Mario LaMontagne, Ph.D., EjnarEriksson, M.D., Ph.D. and Ronny Lorentzon, M.D.

Please note that submissions, including papers, photographs,illustrations, etc. submitted will not be returned unless a self-address stamped envelope is included. In addition, members of theresearch groups of the Award Committee are not eligible. We lookforward to receiving your applications.

Volume 18, No. 1 Page 19

Calendar of EventsWilliam Ledoux

NOTE: For a more comprehensive international listing, please visit ISB’s website at: www.isbweb.org/conferences

Meeting of the American College of Sports MedicineJune 1 - 4, 2005, Nashville, TennesseeAbstract deadline - pastwww.acsm.org/meetings/annualmeeting.htm

Summer Bioengineering ConferenceJune 22 - 26, 2005, Vail, ColoradoAbstract deadline - pastdivisions.asme.org/bed/events/summer05.html

International Conference on Rehabilitation RoboticsJune 28 - July 1, 2005, Chicago, IllinoisAbstract deadline - pastwww.smpp.nwu.edu/ICORR2005

Annual Meeting of the International Functional ElectricalStimulation Society

July 5 - 9, 2005, Montreal, CanadaAbstract deadline - pastwww.ifess2005.org

Congress of the International Society ofBiomechanics in conjunction with the annualmeeting of the American Society of Biomechanics

August 1 - 5, 2005, Cleveland, OhioAbstract deadline - pastwww.isb2005.orgwww.asb-biomech.org

International Symposium on Biomechanics in SportsAugust 22 - 27, 2005, Beijing, ChinaAbstract deadline - pastwww.cssb2001.net/isbs2005

Biomechanics of Lower Limb in Health, Disease andRehabilitation

September 5 - 7, 2005, EnglandAbstract deadline - pastwww.healthcare.salford.ac.uk/crhpr/biomech2005.htm

IASTED International Conference on BiomechanicsSeptember 7 - 9, 2005, Benidorm, SpainAbstract deadline - June 1, 2005www.iasted.org/conferences/2005/spain/biomech.htm

European Society of Movement Analysis of Adults andChildren

September 22 - 24, 2005, Barcelona, SpainAbstract deadline - pastwww.esmac.org/esmac_annual_congresses.htm

Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and ErgonomicsSociety

September 26 - 30, 2005, Orlando, FloridaAbstract deadline - pasthfes.org/Meetings/05annualmeeting.html

International Conference on Mechanics of Biomaterials &Tissues

December 11 - 15, 2005, Waikoloa, HawaiiAbstract deadline - pastwww.icmobt.elsevier.com

Conference of the Society for Physical Regulation in Biologyand Medicine

January 11 - 13, 2006, Cancun, MexicoAbstract deadline - November 18, 2005www.stanford.edu/group/sprbm

Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research SocietyMarch 5 - 8, 2006, New Orleans, LAAbstract deadline - August 22, 2005www.ors.org

International Symposium on the 3-D Analysis of HumanMovement

July 4 - 5, 2006, Valenciennes, FranceAbstract deadline - January 30, 1996www.univ-valenciennes.fr/congres/3D2006/dates.htm

6th Conference on Engineering of SportJuly 11 - 16, 2006 Munich, Bavaria, GermanyAbstract deadline - tbdwww.sportkreativwerkstatt.de/isea2006.de.htm

World Congress of BiomechanicsJuly 29 - August 4, 2006, Munich, GermanyAbstract deadline - January 15th, 2006www.wcb2006.org

Joint ESMAC - GCMAS Meeting (JEGM06)September, 25 - 30, 2006Abstract deadline - March 15, 2006www.jegm06.org

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