[Faculty] FW: Seminar by Dr. Shawn O'Connor on "How limb dynamics and gait energetics influence the neural control of locomotion" on Monday March4, 2013

[Arlene Gibson]

-------- Original Message -------- 


Subject: 

Seminar by Dr. Shawn O'Connor on "How limb dynamics and gait energetics
influence the neural control of locomotion" on Monday March4, 2013


Date: 

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 22:34:23 -0800


From: 

Kee Moon  <mailto:kmoon at mail.sdsu.edu> <kmoon at mail.sdsu.edu>


To: 

faculty at engineering.sdsu.edu

 

Dear Colleagues,
 
 
The ERC faculty search committee would like to inform you a seminar by 
Dr. O'Connor on "How limb dynamics and gait energetics influence the 
neural control of locomotion  " on Monday, March4, 2013. We would be 
highly honored if you can spare some time from your busy schedule to 
attend the seminar. We would like to invite all you students to attend 
the seminar as well. For your information, the faculty candidate's 
resume is attached. Further, we would appreciate it if you can join the 
following meetings with the faculty candidate:
 
 
12:00pm                      Lunch in Faculty Club, ECE/ME faculty
 
2:30-3:00pm                Group meeting with ME/ECE faculty, ME 
Conference room
 
 
Thanks and regards,
 
 
Kee
 
 
 
Faculty Candidate Seminar
 
Speaker Name:
Dr. Shawn O'Connor
Date:  Monday, March 4, 2013 - 11:00am
Location: COE Dean's Conference room
 
Title: How limb dynamics and gait energetics influence the neural 
control of locomotion
 
Abstract: Movement is created by the complex interaction between body 
dynamics and neural control; however, current technology used to augment 
or assist walking does not take this closed-loop relationship into 
account. I will present studies that investigate how limb dynamics and 
gait energetics influence control strategies used by the nervous system. 
Central to these studies are the use of mechanical models of locomotion 
and control theory to generate testable hypotheses that are verified 
with human experiments. I will first demonstrate that key features of 
human gait may be reproduced even in a simple bipedal mechanics model 
when compliance and arc feet are added to the legs. This model generates 
a variety of walking and running gaits by varying only two stiffness 
parameters and informs the design of compliant prosthetic and assistive 
devices. I will then discuss how three-dimensional walking models 
indicate that fore-aft walking dynamics may be self-stabilizing, whereas 
lateral motion is unstable and requires active neural control. To test 
this hypothesis, I developed a virtual reality environment for 
perturbing visual feedback and found that humans rely less on 
integrative visual information for fore-aft balance than mediolateral 
balance. I am currently investigating how energetic cost is integrated 
into the selection of optimal gait patterns in order to study how humans 
will adapt when coupled to energy changing mechanisms, such as assistive 
devices. To meet this aim, I have devised a treadmill-based environment 
for perturbing possible sensory sources used to predict and perceive 
metabolic effort, including the rate of visual flow and blood gas 
concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The presented studies will 
lay the groundwork for the development of natural and intuitive 
rehabilitation devices that work with the dynamics and energetics of the 
body to improve recovery after neurological injury.
 
Biosketch: Shawn O'Connor is a postdoctoral fellow in the department of 
Biomedical Physiology & Kinesiology at Simon Fraser University in 
Vancouver, British Columbia. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biomedical 
Engineering from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Mechanical 
Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. The overarching 
goals of his research are to discover clinically relevant principles 
underlying locomotion and apply this knowledge to the development of 
rehabilitation technology for improving mobility and recovery after 
neurological injury.
 
 

 

 


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