Dear BIOMCH-L subscribers:

The organizers of the Midwest Graduate Student Biomechanics Symposium
are proud to provide a description of the keynote speakers confirmed for
the upcoming meeting April 4-5, 2003 at The University of Toledo.

Friday April 4, 2003

Vijay K. Goel, Ph.D.

Dr. Goel is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of
Bioengineering at The University of Toledo, and is Professor and
Director of the Spine Research Center in the Department of Orthopaedic
Surgery at the Medical College of Ohio. Dr. Goel is Chair of the Annual
Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics to be held at The
University of Toledo September 25-27, 2003. His current research
activities has come to encompass: (1) the design, development and
evaluation of spinal instrumentation using in vitro models; (2) the
influence of working environments where seating, vibration and/or impact
loads play a significant role on the development and incidence of back
pain, and eventually leading to optimizing the seated work place, not
only in the vehicular environment, but also in the office; (3) the
investigation of the effects of alternative therapies currently being
used in the management of back pain patients (e.g., chiropractic
manipulation, relaxation and Chronic Low Back Pain); and (4) studies
addressing the biology of the elderly (aging) spine, problems related to
the geriatric population (e.g., spinal instrumentation for osteoporotic
patients, assessment of the elderly in the work place), and the
effectiveness of alternative therapies in the elderly cohort. Dr. Goel
received the Ph.D. from the University of South Wales, and served as
Professor and Chairman of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at
the University Iowa until his recent appointment at The University of
Toledo.

Saturday April 5, 2003

James Ashton-Miller, Ph.D.

Dr. Ashton-Miller is currently Distinguished Senior Research Scientist
in Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics,
and the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan. Dr.
Ashton-Miller’s research activities address the biomechanics of the
human musculoskeletal system using various experimental methods and
computer simulations to understand how age and disease affect the
ability perform activities of daily living. These research activities
have come to encompass how the central nervous system controls the
musculoskeletal system during these daily activities, and how aging and
disease may alter this functioning. Dr. Ashton-Miller’s research
activities also address the biomechanical properties of the spine and
loading during various daily activities. In this regard, the underlying
mechanisms of low back and neck pain as they relate to prevention,
diagnosis and treatment of these conditions may be examined, as well as
their interaction with the control of normal and abnormal posture. Dr.
Ashton-Miller received the Ph.D. from the University of Oslo and has
held appointments as Research Fellow and Research Associate at the
University of Oslo and the University of Illinois at Chicago,
respectively, prior to assuming his present position at the University
of Michigan.

Jim Potvin, Ph.D.

Dr. Potvin is currently Associate Professor in the Faculty of Human
Kinetics at the University of Windsor. His basic research focuses on the
study of spine mechanics during load handling and the measurement of
muscle fatigue during repetitive or prolonged tasks. He also conducts
applied research into the development of valid ergonomic methods to
quantify injury risk in the applied research in the workplace; including
the assessment of manual materials handling tasks and the evaluation of
upper limb disorders. He has published refereed articles in scientific
journals in the areas of clinical and occupational biomechanics,
ergonomics, applied physiology and electromyography. Dr. Potvin
received the Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo in
1992 and served on the faculty in the School of Human Biology at the
University of Guelph before taking his present post in 1997.

REGISTRATION

There is no registration fee for the MWGSBS. The symposium organizers
do ask that all those that plan to attend to complete the registration
form, that can be downloaded from the MWGSBS website, so that
appropriate accommodations can be made. The registration form must be
completed and sent, via e-mail, regular mail or fax, to:

Danny M. Pincivero, Ph.D.
Department of Kinesiology
The University of Toledo
Toledo, OH 43606
Fax: (419) 530-4759
Phone: (419) 530-5291
E-mail: danny.pincivero@utoledo.edu

ACCOMMODATIONS

Rooms have be allocated for the attendees to the MWGSBS at the
following:

1) Clarion Hotel Toledo: $69.00/night (including full breakfast bar – 2
breakfast tickets per room).
2) Comfort Inn Motel: $55/night (includes continental breakfast).

Please call (419) 535-7070, and indicate you are with the MIDWEST
BIOMECHANICS group for making reservations. Reservations must be made
by Tuesday, March 25th, 2003.

The hotels are located on Secor Road (just south of I-475), which is a
5-10 minute drive to The University of Toledo. Driving maps are
available on the conference website.

PARKING

Parking passes will be made available for those attending the symposium
upon registration.

Please forward any questions, comments, and/or suggestions to Danny M.
Pincivero (danny.pincivero@utoledo.edu) or Chuck Armstrong
(carmstr@utoledo.edu). We look forward to hosting your visit to The
University of Toledo.

Danny M. Pincivero
Chuck Armstrong


--
Danny M. Pincivero, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor,
The University of Toledo
Department of Kinesiology, MS 201
Toledo, OH 43606
Phone: (419) 530-5291
Fax: (419) 530-4759

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