To the Bioch-L list:

The Department of Kinesiology at Indiana University is offering
graduate assistantships for students applying to the Master of Science and
Ph.D. programs in Biomechanics. Stipends are $7800 to$9000 plus tuition
waiver for the academic year. GRE scores are required with the application.

MASTER'S DEGREE

Several areas of study can be chosen for the Master of Science
degree in Kinesiology at Indiana University. The area of Human Performance
includes Exercise Physiology, Motor Control and Biomechanics. At the
Master's level, Biomechanics students can reach various levels of
specialization. All Biomechanics students will work also in the other
subareas within Human Performance, as well as in the development of general
tool skills, such as Statistics. However, they may choose to specialize
further by taking a larger proportion of courses in Biomechanics, and
carrying out research projects.

The Department of Kinesiology offers thesis and non-thesis Master's
degrees. The thesis option is much more demanding than the non-thesis
option, and is strongly recommended for students that may wish to continue
on to a Ph.D. degree in Biomechanics later on. Admission to the thesis
option is limited, and requires approval by the thesis chairperson.

DOCTORAL (Ph.D.) DEGREE

Admission to the Ph.D. degree program requires approval by the
Department of Kinesiology and acceptance by a faculty sponsor for the
particular area of study (Biomechanics, Exercise Physiology, etc.). For
sponsorship of a student in Biomechanics, the main considerations are: (a)
the course background of the student (science courses, including Physics,
Mathematics, Computer Science, Anatomy, Chemistry, Physiology, etc.); (b)
the student's mathematics ("quantitative") GRE score, which should be at
least in the high 600's, and preferably in the 700's (the verbal and
analytical GRE scores are not too important, although the Department of
Kinesiology requires scores above the 50th percentile score reported by
Educational Testing Service in two of the three measures: verbal,
quantitative, analytical); and (c) the student's record of interest and
academic performance in the biomechanics of human movement.

The doctoral student in Biomechanics will be a specialist, with
courses in mechanics, computers and biomechanics procedures, as well as
research projects and a dissertation. Still, the student will also have to
take a minor outside the Department of Kinesiology (usually in Computer
Science), as well as courses in Statistics, Motor Control, Exercise
Physiology, etc. Some background in the biological sciences is desirable
for this curriculum; an excellent aptitude in math/mechanics is crucial.

LABORATORY

The Biomechanics Laboratory is equipped mainly for film analysis.
Lab equipment includes three Locam movie cameras, a variable-distance film
projection system, a Houston Instrument Complot digitizer, a Silicon
Graphics Indigo2 computer, three NeXT computers, two
microcomputers/terminals, and other minor items.

The films taken by the cameras are projected, one photograph at a
time, onto the digitizer surface. The digitized coordinates of body
segmental landmarks are then sent through a terminal to files in the hard
disk of a computer. Software is available for the calculation of
two-dimensional or three-dimensional coordinates from the digitized data.
These coordinates can then be used as input for other computer programs,
which may calculate among other parameters, center of mass location, angular
momentum, and joint forces and torques associated with the activity being
analyzed. Software is also available for graphics, on-screen animation and
some forms of computer simulation. The Biomechanics Laboratory has access
to the resources of the Center for Innovative Computer Applications (CICA),
a branch of Indiana University Computer Services (UCS) that specializes in
computer graphics applications. The access includes connection to the CICA
computers through the Indiana University ethernet computer network, as well
as cooperation with the personnel from CICA in computer-related projects.

The Biomechanics Laboratory specializes in Sport Biomechanics. The
primary objective is to gain a better understanding of the cause-effect
mechanisms of sports motions.

For more information, see the following URL on the World Wide Web:
http://ezinfo.ucs.indiana.edu/~dapena

Any interested students should contact Paul R. Surburg, HPER 112,
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.

---
Jesus Dapena
Department of Kinesiology
Indiana University

Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
1-812-855-8407
dapena@valeri.hper.indiana.edu
http://ezinfo.ucs.indiana.edu/~dapena