Presentations

SPRING 2016

Anne Marie Kelly

Analysis of Hurdling Technique vs. A Bundled Jump

This analysis worked to study the advantages of using modern-day hurdling technique to effectively get over an obstacle as quickly as possible. Through video analysis, I specifically looked at the horizontal and vertical distances covered while in the air for both jumps, as well as the air time and horizontal/vertical velocities. I concluded that the higher average horizontal velocity is the greatest advantage of using the hurdling technique, since a track and field race is predicated upon covering horizontal distance as quickly as possible.

Hurdling Presentation

Connor Hoge

 Amateur Golf Swing Analysis

The goal of my project was to do an analysis of two different golf shots: bunker shot and short pitch shot. I looked at club head kinetics, ball kinetics, conversion of energy and energy generated from wrist cock angle. I found that bunker shot requires much more energy in swing; however, it is less efficient as much of the energy was lost after contact with the sand.

Golf 1

Golf 2

Dale Purdy
Mechanical Work Differences Between Conventional and Sumo Deadlifts
Darlina Liu
These Boots Were Made for Walkin’: The Biomechanics of Walking in a Fracture Boot
Dee Luo
The Biomechanics of a Standard Pen Flip
Hannah Nam
 The Biomechanics of Using Chopsticks
Landis Walsh
 The Biomechanics of Erging
Lawrence Lee
 The Biomechanics of the Deadlift vs. the Clean Pull
Maribeth Harlan
 The Biomechanics of Ballet

My project was focused on the balance and alignment of a dancer “en pointe”, as well as the relationship between rate of turn and rotational radius.

In order for a dancer to maintain balance, vertical alignment must be maintained between the center of mass, ankle, and toe.  This will exclude any horizontal forces from acting on the dancer, while the vertical force of gravity cancels with the opposing force exerted by the floor.  As long as the sum of forces on the body equals zero, static balance can be maintained.

As a dancer turns, we expect the velocity to increase as the rotational radius decreases.  A pirouette, in which the mass is concentrated relatively closer towards the spin axis, achieved a greater velocity.  As the leg is extended further away from the body, the relative velocity decreases as the dancer’s mass becomes distributed further away from the spin axis.

These findings can be explained by the conserved quantity of angular momentum, in which the product of mass, radius, and velocity is expected to stay constant.  If the radius increases, velocity must decrease to compensate, thereby maintaining a constant angular momentum.

Neisan Sabet
 The Biomechanics of the Leg Curl
Ruchita Pendse
 The Comparative Efficacy and Physiology of Front and Back Leg Kicks
Shayan Waseh
The Comparative Biomechanics of Plant Foot Position in Soccer Shots
This project compared the biomechanical differences between shots when different positions were used for plant foot placement (either behind, in line with, or in front of the ball position). It found that this plant foot position did matter in the timing of the shot, and the force used, but not in the final velocity of the ball.
Sonya Mannala
The Biomechanics of Jumping Rope
Tom DiSanto
 The Biomechanics of Dunking a Basketball
Trevor Mason
 An Analysis of Pinata Strikes
Zach Penfil
 The Biomechanics of a Boxing Punch

SPRING 2014

Daniel Weng
The Biomechanics of the Basketball Shot: 1 vs 1 Motion

This project aims to see the differences in mechanics between a 1 motion basketball shot and a 2 motion basketball shot, and how it effects the kinetic energy and arc of the shot. Specifically, I’ll be looking at how the leg extension, arm elevation, and arm/wrist snap contribute to the mechanics of these shots. I’ll also be looking at the time coordination of these different mechanics in these 2 shots, and how they contribute to the energy and velocity of the shot.

Franklin Jeng
The Biomechanics of a Back Somersault

The back somersault is a common aerobatic stunt performed by divers, dancers, and gymnasts. It is an integral part of an athlete’s routine and often the first flip a person learns. This project seeks to examine the different phases involved in a back somersault. I analyze the energy components and the amount of work done by the muscles of each phase, the relationship between the rotational kinetic energy of the arms and the rotational kinetic energy of the body, as well as a comparison between a back somersault on the floor and a back somersault on a trampoline.

Biomechanics of a Back Somersault-qbhjuv

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Harry Choi
The Biomechanics of a Tennis Serve

Tennis serve is an integral shot in tennis, often giving the server a huge advantage during the initial stage of the match. Before executing a powerful serve, players bend their knees and engage their lower body muscles before the player swings his/her arms and makes contact with the ball. This project seeks to study how knee flexion during a tennis serve contributes to the overall velocity, power, force and energy delivered to the ball and to determine whether knee flexion contributes to the rotational velocity and energy of the arm swing.

BIOL428 Final Presentation – Harry Choi-12bhhab

Johnny Su
The Biomechanics of Treadmill and Road Running

The project examined the biomechanics between treadmill running and road running by examining three parameters: knee extension, ankle flexion, and stride frequency. From video analysis on Loggerpro and Kinovea, treadmill running decreases knee extension, promotes ankle plantar flexion upon striking, and increases stride frequency. All of these findings, supported with other research literatures, demonstrate that treadmill running is a safe and efficient exercise, provided that it is used properly.

Biomechanics of Treadmill and Road Running-121vhllRoad Video-1tv0yesTreadmill Video-1806shp

Katie Alger
Breaking Down the Worm
Kelvin Wang
Biomechanics of the Jump Shot
In this project, three different types of basketball jump shots were analyzed to determine differences in energetics, kinematics, momentum, and force: normal jump shot, pull up jump shot, and fadeaway jump shot. It was found that impulse and momentum were similar for all three shots, but the fadeaway appeared to have more impulse contributed from the triceps extension motion. Force and power were greater in the pull-up jump shot, potentially due to the running start, and energy was found to be similar in all three shots, though the normal jump shot produced less energy. The slight difference in muscles used between shots and the differences in motion could result in these biomechanical differences.
Lawrence Wu
Biomechanics of Vertical Jump

This project analyzes the biomechanics of the vertical jump, including the muscles involved and the physical components of the motions. The vertical jump can be modeled as a mass-spring system, which allows one to simplify a complex motion while deriving meaningful information. This project also analyzes how a counterswing arm movement affects the height and power of a vertical jump.

Liz Tucker
Biomechanics of Baseball Pitches
This presentation was on the analysis of a fastball, curveball, and changeup biomechanics to see where the most force was exerted in order to decelerate the arm.  The deceleration of the arm is the stage of pitching that is the most violent as well as one of the most harmful to the joints of the pitcher.  Examples of common pitching injuries are also given based on regions of stress.
Owen Gantz
Biomechanics of Running: Barefoot vs. Shod
Quan Chen
Biomechanics of Power Clean vs. Clean and Press

In my project, I analyze the biomechanics of two popular lifts, the power clean and the clean and press using the high speed camera. Both are similar in that the initial clean requires a lot of explosive power, and then one can either go into the squat position using the lower body (power clean), or lift the bar above their head to perform a shoulder press (clean and press). I compare the work required for both sets of initial cleans and then compare the work differences in the squat and the shoulder press. In addition, I compare the differences in potential and kinetic energy between the two lifts.

Rakesh Goli
Comparing the Biomechanics Between a Flat and Topspin Forehand
Tim Borjas
Biomechanics of a Tennis Shot

For my project I investigated the differences between the forehand and backhand groundstroke shots in tennis. Through Loggerpro analysis I was able to determine the velocity and kinetic energy of the ball and the racket. By doing this I want to make biomechanical conclusions about the possible differences and similarities between the two shots.

Zachery Chen

Biomechanics of Shoulder Press vs. Push Press

I examined the biomechanics of a shoulder press compared to a push press, two very similar movements with one key difference. The push press includes a quick dip in the legs that add extra energy into the movement. I tried to explore whether the movement of the legs in the push press detracts from the work done in the arms compared to a shoulder press as well as the explosiveness of each movement. Furthermore, I also analyzed the two movements between two weight levels to see if there were any difference in motion and energetics at a heavier weight level. I concluded that at lower weight, the work done by arms is similar in both a shoulder and push press, but the difference increases at higher weights. Additionally, the push press proved to be much more explosive than the shoulder press.

BIOL438Presentation-1o5k27y

Ziang John Lu

Standing Shot vs. Jump Shot in Basketball

For my project I wanted to quantify the difference between a standing shot and a jump shot in basketball. In order to do so, I measured the arc length and energy associated with both types of shot using motion analysis programs Loggerpro and Kinovea. I found that the jump shot generated a more successful trajectory arc while producing slightly more total energy, including significantly more rotational kinetic energy.

Ziang Lu BIOL 438 Presentation-1r0er15

SPRING 2012
Dasha Donado
The Biomechanics of Hula Hooping
Samantha Erosa
The Biomechanics and Kinetics of Elbow Position in the Baseball Swing
Frank Wang
The Biomechanics of a Squat
Hanyuan Shi
The Biomechanics of the Triple Jump
Julian Rose
4th Quarter Heroics
Laura DiPaolo
The Biomechanics of a Shaposhnikova
Mike Lifson
Barefoot Running v. Shod Rodding
Parth Patel
Biomechanics of a Wrist Shot
Pranav Reddy
The Forehand: Slice vs. Topspin
Rupan Bose
The Biomechanics of Effective Hand Strikes in Krav Maga

The purpose of this study was to determine which type of a hand strike is more effective: a straight technique (punch) or a rotational technique (back fist and hammer fist), and also to determine what makes that technique more powerful and effective. The study used a soccer ball as a model target, and certain physical measurements like impulse and pressure experienced by the ball after being struck were measured.  It was found that the hammer fist, a rotational technique, was the most powerful technique since it engaged the most number of muscles.  Therefore, the results suggest that in order to deliver a powerful and effective technique, one should engage as many muscles as possible by “driving” with the legs and using a full body rotation.

Shannon Tsai
Biomechanics of a Pull in Ultimate
Sunny Jang
Biomechanics of Jump Rope
Varun Patel
Biomechanics of the Football Throw
Vishal Dasari
Kinematics of Martial Arts Punches
William Chow
Muscle Function and Kinematics of Dart Throwing
William Goldhirsch
Physics of Fencing
Aarti Mistry
Bharatanatyam Biomechanics
Ali Kazmi
Power Generated by a Topspin vs. a Slice
Daniel Lewis
Biomechanics of a Tennis Forehand
Deborah Yeh
Biomechanics of the Roundhouse Kick
Jabez Yeo
Biomechanics of the Back Handspring
Parth Shah
Analyzing Differences Between a First and Second Serve in Tennis
Shaina Mann
Energy and Momentum in Hitting a Softball
SPRING 2011
Vinay Rao
The Biomechanics of a Free Throw Shot
Omar Khan
The Biomechanics behind Soccer Throw-Ins
Jaimin Sin
Karate: Front vs. Side Kick
Daniel Kim
Biomechanics of Throwing a Frisbee
Felipe Matsunaga
Backhand Dropshot 4/21/2011:
Chris Hoeger
Soccer Goalkeeping 4/21/2011:
Maureen French
Barefoot Running 4/21/2011:
Saeed Mohammed
Baseball Pitching 4/21/2011:

Kamil Okroj
Power Clean Weight Lifting 4/19/2011:
Jena Nakata
David Moquin
Power Generation 4/14/2011:
Sonya Parashar
Swimming Glides and Starts 4/14/2011:
Shabatun Islam
Coin Toss 4/12/2011
Dan Lipschutz
Kicking a Football 4/12/2011:
Sascha Murillo
5 Ball and 3 club Juggling, 2011, juggling, 4/7/2011: