Congratulations to Zach Korman who successfully defended his MS thesis!
Zach successfully defended his MS thesis entitled “Enhancing Locomotor Performance by Modulating Shoe Cushioning Properties.” The goal of his work was to determine if and how footwear properties could be modified to alter walking biomechanics. Zach developed a test shoe which allowed heel and forefoot midsole cushioning to be quickly and independently varied. He performed a systematic gait analysis study of 8 healthy human participants to isolate and quantify the effects of shoe cushioning. Zach found that forefoot cushioning primarily affected push-off power, with little effect on collision. And heel cushioning affected collision power, with minimal effect on push-off. COM peak push-off power was found to increase with softer forefoot cushioning and COM peak collision power became more negative with softer heel cushioning. Lower forefoot bending stiffness was also observed to increase peak COM push-off power. He concluded that a shoe intended to increase push-off power (e.g., for gait rehabilitation) might be designed with a soft and flexible forefoot midsole.