Introduction to Biomechanics Series for Black Students
Zelik Lab is excited to announce we will be offering a FREE, virtual two-day biomechanics series for minority middle and high school students!
When: Wednesday, July 14th, and Thursday July 15th from 2pm – 4pm CDT
Who: All Black students in the 7th grade or higher can sign up by filling out the Google Form linked here
What: Cameron Nurse a Vanderbilt PhD Student is hosting a virtual series that will introduce the field of biomechanics. This event will have guest speakers and several interactive at home experiments that demonstrate the prevalence of biomechanics in sports and rehabilitation.
Event Details:
This event will introduce students to the field of Biomechanics through a number of interactive lessons and experiments. Black professionals and students within the field will lead discussions and experiments on a variety of exciting topics including engineering design, critical thinking, and understanding athletic movements. Students will also receive a look into the vast array of careers within the field of biomechanics and will have an opportunity to ask the guest speakers questions and seek advice.
SESSION 1: Sports Biomechanics – Biomechanics plays a major role in enhancing performance and preventing injuries in sports. In this session, students we will:
- Discuss how biomechanics is used to develop new techniques and equipment to help athletes perform at the highest level.
- Participate in an experiment showing students tools that help biomechanics labs observe walking, running and jumping techniques.
- Speak to scientist from NIKE Sports Research on how science informs Nike’s development of new shoes and equipment.
- Talk to a Physical Therapist about the role biomechanics plays in their profession.
SESSION 2: Rehabilitation Engineering – Biomechanics must understand the natural movement of the body. They create assistive technology that helps people with disabilities increase their mobility. In this session, students will:
- Focus on using biomechanics knowledge to develop exoskeletons and assistive robotics.
- Build a hand model with materials available at home
- Learn how knowledge of the anatomy creates useful and comfortable devices
- Develop a plan and design assistive technology that could help the disabled maximize performance in a particular task.
- Present their designs to a University professor who will then provide them insight into how engineering design and biomechanics drive innovation in the field of Rehabilitation.
About Cameron:
Cameron Nurse is a first year PhD Student at Vanderbilt’s Center for Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology in Department of Mechanical Engineering. With a passion for human movement and sport injury, Cameron’s research focuses on using wearable sensing technology to develop effective and innovative ways to monitor and prevent injuries.
Cameron graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering in 2018. At Boston University, Cameron was Division 1 student athlete on the Men’s Track & Field team and served as captain for two of the four years he competed. Upon graduation, Cameron pursued his Master of Science in Bioengineering with a concentration in Biomechanics, at Northeastern University. He graduated from his program in 2020, with honors.