ASB Student Chapters

ASB Student Chapters play a vital role in keeping our society active and connected throughout the year. We should all be proud of the incredible work being done by ASB Student Chapter leaders across the community.

The University of Utah ASB Student Chapter recently launched a “Monthly Mentor Visit” initiative, introducing elementary school students to biomechanics through hands-on, age-appropriate activities. As part of this program, chapter members visited Bachman Elementary School to give fourth-grade students a fun and engaging crash course in biomechanics.

In addition, Alexis Benoit, ASB Student Chapter President at the University of Florida, has been leading outstanding career development seminars for students and generously sharing these events with ASB Student Chapters nationwide through virtual participation. Recent speakers have included Bryan Conrad, PhD, Senior Manager at Brooks Running, and Kiara Chan, PhD, Biomechanical Engineer at Life Fitness / Hammer Strength.

We look forward to continuing to highlight and share the inspiring initiatives led by ASB Student Chapters throughout the year.

Cross-Lab Motion

Cross Lab-Motion continues to grow! The goal of Cross-Lab Motion is to foster stronger connections across labs within the ASB community by providing structured opportunities for labs to share ongoing research, receive constructive peer feedback, and discuss methodological approaches, analytical tools, and open questions in biomechanics. Rather than waiting until conferences to learn about each other’s work, this initiative creates opportunities for labs to engage throughout the year. Each month (only once a month), two labs are matched and meet for approximately one hour. Both PIs and students are strongly encouraged to participate.

Each lab pairing has full flexibility to design a meeting format that best aligns with your goals and makes the most meaningful use of the time together. Below is a suggested meeting format that has worked well in previous Cross-Lab Motion rounds.

Suggested Meeting Format:

• Laboratory Introductions (~10 min)
• Brief introductions from each lab or selected lab members.
• Research Sharing – Lab 1 (~15 min)
• Presentation, discussion, or demonstration of current work.
• Research Sharing – Lab 2 (~15 min)
• Same format, highlighting recent or ongoing projects.
• Exchange Time (~20 min)
• Option A: Students meet with the other lab’s PI(s) for Q&A
• Option B: Open discussion with all attendees

We would like to thank all of the current laboratories involved in the Cross-Lab Motion initiative:

• Neuromuscular Biomechanics Lab, Montana State University (James Becker, PhD)
• Kevin P. Granata Biomechanics Lab, Virginia Tech (Robin Queen, PhD)
• Applied Biomechanics Laboratory, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Jason R. Franz, PhD)
• Center for Human–Machine Systems, Cleveland State University (Douglas A. Wajda, PhD)
• Sayu Lab for Biomechanics & Locomotion, University of Utah (Kota Takahashi, PhD)
• Neuromechanics and Applied Locomotion (NAL) Lab, University of Utah (Peter Fino, PhD)
• Anatomical Engineering Group, University of California, Los Angeles (Tyler R. Clites, PhD)
• Orthotics & Prosthetics for Enhanced (O.P.En) Mobility, University of Delaware (Elisa Arch, PhD)
• Prosthetics and Orthotics Rehabilitation Technology Assessment Laboratory (PORTAL), Northwestern University (Matty J. Major, PhD)
• Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL), University of Pittsburgh (Rory Cooper, PhD)
• Rehabilitation Biomechanics Lab, University of Michigan (Deanna Gates, PhD)
• Robotics for Assistive Systems and Rehabilitation Lab, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (S. G. Bhat, PhD)
• Biomechanics groups, University of Nebraska at Omaha (Sara Myers, PhD)
• Human Movement & Balance Laboratory, University of Pittsburgh (Kurt Beschorner, PhD)
• UI Ortho TIGER Team, University of Iowa (Don Anderson, PhD; Jason Wilken, PhD)
• Neuromechanics and Mobility Lab, University of Washington (Katherine Steele, PhD)
• VU-Biomech Lab, Victoria University (Alessandro Garofolini, PhD)
• Locomotor Control Lab, University of Southern California (James M. Finley, PhD)
• PoWeR Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology (Gregory S. Sawicki, PhD)
• Clinical, Functional, and Performance Biomechanics Lab, Ohio State University (Ajit Chaudhari, PhD)

Based on your experience, would you recommend other labs from the biomechanics community to join the ASB Cross-Lab Motion? Why yes or why no?

“We had a great experience with the ASB Cross-Lab Motion so far, and I recommend more labs to join. The meeting allows us to have a deeper conversation with other labs that usually occur only during conference season. For students, it’ll be a great chance to meet other students and faculty and give a boost in your networking. I wish I had this type of opportunity while I was a graduate student, since meeting new people at conferences can be intimidating.” -Kota Takahashi

Please send your answer to the question to asbstudentrep@asbweb.org if your lab has participated in the ASB Cross-Lab Motion.

There is still time to join the final three rounds! Please fill out this form to participate: https://tinyurl.com/3v5x4p8w

World Congress of Biomechanics 2026

Your ASB Student Representative has been meeting bi-weekly with student representatives from the Canadian Society for Biomechanics and the European Society of Biomechanics to coordinate student-focused events and seminars during the World Congress of Biomechanics (WCB). A special thank you to Marty Kilbane and Asal Aflatounian for their continued participation and for bringing thoughtful ideas to these planning meetings. As part of this collaboration, ASB will be organizing student networking panels and professional roundtable discussions at the conference.

Virtual Events – Professional Development

Our ASB-organized, pre-conference virtual event on WCB Abstract Preparation received excellent feedback, despite being organized on short notice. The two sessions, which were led by Dr. Robin Queen and Dr. Danny Davis, were well received, and the WCB Conference Event Planner thanked the ASB Student Committee for the initiative and coordination. Building on this success, we will continue offering workshops and virtual events throughout the year, particularly in the lead-up to the conference—this time with more advance planning.

If you would like to receive updates about upcoming virtual events, please reach out to asbstudentrep@asbweb.org. Recordings of past events are also available at https://asbweb.org/professional-development-series/.

ASB Student Committee Initiatives

The ASB Student Committee has also begun developing a series of statistics reference flyers tailored specifically for biomechanics students. These resources are intended to support both coursework and research, and will be shared with the community as they become available.