News
Faculty Opening in Mechanical Engineering
Oct. 3, 2016—http://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/me/faculty-staff/FacultyOpenings.php The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University invites applications for a tenure/tenure-track faculty position to begin in the fall of 2017. Applications will be considered for positions at all ranks commensurate with qualifications. Applicants must possess a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering or closely related discipline. The Department is particularly interested in candidates with...
Prof. Zelik Receives SEC Faculty Travel Award
Sep. 3, 2016—Prof. Zelik received a Faculty Travel Award from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) to visit researchers at the University of Tennessee, in order to explore collaborative research opportunities at the intersection of human movement biomechanics and wearable assistive technologies. [Vanderbilt Link] [SEC Link]
Prof. Zelik Presented at Northwestern University Movement & Rehabilitation Sciences Training Day
Aug. 28, 2016—Prof. Zelik presented a research talk entitled “Maximizing Human Performance via Wearable Exoskeletons & Prostheses,” after participating in a week-long clinical workshop at Northwestern University.
BAT Lab Receives 3-Year NSF Grant, and New Balance Footwear Award
Aug. 24, 2016—The BAT lab has received a 3-year, ~$300K grant from the NSF General & Age-Related Disabilities Engineering program. The research project, entitled “Leveraging Toe Dynamics to Improve Prosthetic Feet and Amputee Mobility,” will involve PhD student Eric Honert, and be carried our in collaboration with Dr. Gerasimos Bastas, Assistant Professor and the Director of Limb Loss...
Congrats to Erik Lamers on Passing his PhD Prelim Exam!
Aug. 23, 2016—Congrats to Erik Lamers on Passing his PhD Prelim Exam!
BAT Lab Presents Research at American Society of Biomechanics Conference
Aug. 4, 2016—Current and future BAT lab members are presenting their research this week at the Annual American Society of Biomechanics Conference in Raleigh, NC. Research topics include prostheses, exoskeletons, whole-body biomechanics, ankle and toe joint kinetics and muscle-tendon dynamics: Eric Honert Whole-Body Walking Biomechanics With vs. Without A Toe Joint: Implications for Prosthetic Foot Design Erik...
BAT Lab Receives Discovery Grant to Explore Wearable Exoskeleton for Reducing Low Back Injury Risk
Jul. 15, 2016—The BAT lab was awarded $100K in seed funding from the Vanderbilt University Discovery Grant program to explore a new wearable technology aimed at reducing low back pain and injury. This research is being carried out in collaboration with Dr. Aaron Yang, Assistant Professor in the Vanderbilt Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Department, who specializes in...
Prof. Zelik presented research at the International Society of Electrophysiology & Kinesiology Congress
Jul. 8, 2016—Prof. Zelik presented research from the BAT lab at the International Society of Electrophysiology & Kinesiology (ISEK) Congress in Chicago, and also visited with researchers/clinicians at the Northwestern University Prosthetic-Orthotics Center and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago while in town.
BAT Lab Presents Research at Dynamic Walking, and BANCOM Conferences
Jun. 10, 2016—Eric Lamers, Erik Honert, Matt Yandell and Prof. Zelik presented their research earlier this week at the Dynamic Walking conference in Holly, Michigan. Topics included the benefits of prosthetic ankle range of motion for lower-limb amputees, the biomechanical role of the toes in bipedal locomotion, and characterization of the human-exosuit physical interface, to look at...
Prof. Zelik to give seminar at UVA this week, and at Army Research Lab next week
May. 23, 2016—Prof. Zelik will visit and present a research seminar at the University of Virginia on Friday, May 27, followed a visit and seminar at the Army Research Lab in Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD on Tuesday, May 31.
Prof. Zelik will give a seminar at Univ. of Texas – Austin this Friday 4/22
Apr. 18, 2016—Prof. Zelik will be visiting the University of Texas – Austin this Friday and delivering a research seminar at 11am in CPE 2.212. https://faculty.engr.utexas.edu/utcare/utcare/event/karl-zelik-phd-vanderbilt-university
Congratulations to Zach Korman who successfully defended his MS thesis!
Apr. 10, 2016—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...
Student Honors: 1 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship + 2 Honorable Mentions!
Mar. 29, 2016—Congratulations to PhD students in the BAT lab who received honors from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRF) Program. Erik Lamers (1st year PhD student in the BAT lab) was 1 of 7 current doctoral students in the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering to receive this competitive NSF fellowship in 2016, which is...
Congrats to Matt Yandell, whose research on barefoot gait was published in Nature Scientific Reports
Mar. 18, 2016—Matt’s research study entitled “Preferred barefoot step frequency is influenced by factors beyond minimizing metabolic rate” has been published in Nature Scientific Reports. This is Matt’s first first-author publication. Karl Zelik was a co-author and the PI for this study, which was carried out in the BAT lab at Vanderbilt. ...
Join us April 7, 2016 for a lab open house with interactive demos to celebrate National Biomechanics Day
Mar. 13, 2016—National Biomechanics Day is a nation-wide event aimed at demonstrating biomechanics to high school students, teachers and the general public. Vanderbilt University is excited to participate. We will be hosting a class of high school students in the morning. This will be followed by an afternoon open house, which is open to all members of...