Sayers John Miller, III, assistant professor of kinesiology at Penn State, has received the 2012 National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) Continuing Education Excellence Award. (more)
Karl M. Newell, professor and head of the Department of Kinesiology, has been named the 2013 Alliance Scholar by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). (more)
The skeletal structure of the foot and ankle differs significantly between human sprinters and nonsprinters, according to Penn State researchers. Their findings not only help explain why some people are faster runners than others, but also may be useful in helping people who have difficulty walking, such as older adults and children with cerebral palsy. (more)
Andrea Dunn, senior scientist at Klein Buendel, will present the 2012 Dorothy B. Harris Lecture. Her lecture, titled "Pioneering Opportunities in Exercise and Sport Psychology in the 21st Century," will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16, in the Bennett Pierce Living Center (110 Henderson Building). The event, sponsored by the Department of Kinesiology in the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State, is free and open to the public. (more)
People with Parkinson's disease swing their arms asymmetrically -- one arm swings less than the other -- when walking. This unusual movement is easily detected early when drugs and other interventions may help slow the disease, according to Penn State researchers who used inexpensive accelerometers on the arms of Parkinson's disease patients to measure arm swing. (more)
While the University community continues to cope with the gravity and complexity of issues related to the Jerry Sandusky allegations, several Penn State professors have integrated it into the classroom to help students share their thoughts about the issues and learn from them, too. (more)
Gregory Sawicki, of the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, will be speaking at the Kinesiology 590 Colloquium series at 4:15 p.m. on Dec. 8, in Room 135 Reber Building on Penn State's University Park campus. His topic of discussion is "Human PoWeR: of Wearable Robots for Locomotion Assistance." For more information, call 814-863-0847. (more)
Stephan Swinnen of the Department of Biomedical Kinesiology at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, will be speaking at the Kinesiology 590 Colloquium series at 4:15 p.m. on Nov. 17, in Room 127 of the Noll Laboratory on Penn State's University Park campus. His talk is "Age-Related Changes in Neutal Control of Movement: Functional and Structural Aspects of Brian Aging." For more information, call 814-865-0847. (more)
Exercise interventions during and after pregnancy offer numerous health benefits to both mothers and their babies, particularly among women who are at high risk for gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. Danielle Downs, an associate professor of kinesiology and obstetrics and gynecology at Penn State, was one of four speakers invited to discuss their studies related to pregnancy and postpartum interventions at a symposium during the 2011 Annual Meeting and Scientific Session of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM), held in April in Washington, D.C. "With the increased focus on the obesity epidemic in this country and the growing evidence to support the effects of maternal lifestyle factors on fetal programming, this is a critical time to understand the role of physical activity in promoting both immediate and lifelong maternal and infant health," said Downs. (more)
