KINGSTON, R.I. — April 4, 2024 — High school students from around the state got a hands-on look at high-tech equipment in the University of Rhode Island Department of Kinesiology as professors and students welcomed several high schools to Mackal Field House during the annual National Biomechanics Day April 3.
More than 400 high school students got hands-on lessons on biomechanics and other science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields as they sampled the high-tech gear and challenged themselves—and each other—in several physical challenges laid out across the gym floor. Students wore motion capture sensors to see how their body moves, used force plates to measure the force they put on their feet while walking, tested their vertical leap and running speed, and watched on a computer monitor the electrical activity their muscles generated while curling a dumbbell.
“We really want to reach out to those students interested in STEM. And show them this is fun. You look around and see they are really engaged,” said kinesiology Professor Susan D’Andrea, who organized the URI event along with fellow professors and grad students. “A lot of students are interested in kinesiology because it’s a nice mix between sports and science so we do a lot of sports-related activities. But it’s all science. It shows them there’s a lot of fun things you can do with science.”
Students were able to experience equipment from the advanced Human Performance Lab, Body Composition Lab, Health Fitness Lab and Motion Analysis Lab, where professors and grad students from Kinesiology, physical therapy, communicative disorders and engineering educated the students on biomechanics systems. They experienced virtual reality and augmented reality systems, motion capture technology, wearable technology and photoelectric gait technology, among others.
“They learn about the technology, and get to use it to understand exactly what exactly it measures,” said kinesiology graduate student Nadia Rajan, who expects to complete her master’s degree this semester. “It’s about getting students involved in biomechanics and kinesiology, including those facing disparities. It’s about reaching those communities that don’t always have the chance to be in this sort of environment. They can come out here and have some fun, and hopefully want to join kinesiology after this.”
The event is part of National Biomechanics Day, a world-wide celebration of biomechanics in its many forms for high school students and teachers. URI was one of many schools around the world holding similar events on the same day. Biomechanics investigates “the broad expanse of biology in the physical world,” according to the Biomechanics Initiative, which organizes the international event. The discipline makes substantial contributions to basic biology and physics, medicine and health, human and animal movement and performance, biomedical engineering, prosthetics and human-machine interactions, among many other endeavors.
“The big overall goal is to educate high school students about biomechanics, what we can do, and how we can use our science skills to help people with disabilities or problems,” D’Andrea said. “It’s really cool because biomechanics is really hands-on; you can see it. It’s all to bring the high school kids in and show them the opportunities this field presents.”