Click on the links below for more information:
Degree Programs
The Graduate
School
Teaching and Research Assistantships
Academic Advisor and Director of the
Biomechanics Research Labarotory
Research Focus
Laboratory Facilities
Collaboration
Partial List of Refereed Publications
Examples of Grants Awarded
Degree Programs
Both Masters of Science and Doctor of Philosophy Degree
programs are offered. Students are required to complete
a thesis. Students in the program have a variety of
backgrounds including engineering, physical therapy,
biology, computer science, exercise science, and mathematics.
Coursework and research experiences are designed to
meet an individual student's needs and research direction.
Graduates of the program hold clinical and/or research
positions.
Graduate programs are offered in the Department of Biomedical
Engineering and Integrative & Evolutionary Biology.
You can view department websites by accessing the following
links:
Integrative & Evolutionary Biology:
http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/biosci/ieb/
Department of Biomedical Engineering:
http://www.usc.edu/dept/biomed/
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Teaching and Research Assistantships
Graduate students accepted into the biomechanics specialty
typically receive teaching and/or research assistantships.
Both provide a stipend and tuition remission. Teaching assistants
are responsible for teaching laboratory experiences offered
in conjunction with upper level undergraduate courses in
kinesiology and biomechanics.
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Academic Advisor and Director of the Biomechanics
Research Laboratory
Dr. Jill L. McNitt-Gray is a biomechanist and an Associate
Professor with tenure in Exercise Sciences at USC. She holds
joint appointments in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering
and Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy. She received her
Ph.D. in biomechanics from The Pennsylvania State University
in 1989. While at USC, Dr. McNitt-Gray and her students
have developed and established a funded experimental biomechanics
research/teaching laboratory. They have made significant
contributions in the area of biomechanics research by publishing
original investigations in reputable refereed journals and
presenting research findings at national and international
professional meetings. Dr. McNitt-Gray and her students
have also enhanced both the un dergraduate and graduate
educational experience at the University of Southern California.
In 1992, Dr. McNitt-Gray received an Innovative Teaching
Award from the USC Center for Excellence in Teaching and
in 1995, received a grant from the National Science Foundation
for Laboratory Innovation and Improvements in Biomechanics.
Dr. McNitt-Gray teaches the undergraduate courses in Kinesiology
and Biomechanics and graduate courses in Force, Kinematics,
Intersegmental Dynamics and Neuromuscular Control of Multijoint
Movements, Kinetics, Advanced Kinetics, and Quantitative
Electromyography.
While at USC, Dr. McNitt-Gray has made substantial contributions
in the area of service as a member of Department and University
committees by actively contributing to modifications in
the undergraduate and graduate curriculum, preparing proposals,
recruiting students, and searching for faculty. Dr. McNitt-Gray
is currently the Education Committee Chairperson for the
American Society of Biomechanics and has performed various
editorial duties associated with refereed journals, scientific
conferences, and grant proposals. Her joint appointments
in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Department
of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at USC have also
fostered interdisciplinary teaching and research interaction
between the engineering and clinical disciplines.
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Research Focus
Our research at the USC Biomechanics Research Laboratory
focuses on the biomechanics and neuromuscular control of
multijoint movements involving dynamic interaction with
the environment (e.g. jumps, landings, locomotion, falls).
Our aim is to identify the underlying mechanisms humans
use when:
Preparing for impending collision
Distributing load during impact
Achieving equilibrium after contact with the landing surface
Better understanding of the biomechanics and neuromuscular
control prior, during, and after interaction with the environment
contributes to improvements in performance and reductions
in injury. Our research hasbeen funded in part by the United
States Olympic Committee, National Science Foundation, National
Institute on Aging, National Collegiate Athletic Association,
Medical Commission of the International Olympic Committee,
American Association of Retired Persons, and a number of
National Governing Bodies of Olympic Sports. Biomechanical
research conducted in the USC Biomechanics Research Laboratory
has been featured on the 1994 Season Premiere program of
Beyond 2000 television program, FUTURES: a production of
the Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education
(FASE), and a variety of news and information services.
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Laboratory Facilities
The biomechanics laboratory is equipped with:
Four force plates
Multichannel telemetered electromyography
Dual camera high speed video motion analysis system (400
Hz)
Shuttered video system (60 Hz)
Digitizing stations
A variety of transducers (e.g. accelerometers, pressure
sensors, potentiometers)
A computer network with 9 workstations
Analog to digital conversion
Signal processing
Custom kinematic, EMG, and total body and joint kinetics
processing and analysis software.
Our collaborative work with the Sports Science staff at
the Olympic Training Centers in Colorado Springs and San
Diego, also provides an extended laboratory environment
for sport related activities.
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Collaboration
Collaborative research with students and colleagues has
enabled us to explore related research questions in different
contexts. These parallel efforts have provided a broader
perspective when attempting to identify mechanisms humans
use prior to, during, and after interaction with the environment.
Our collaborative work with Dr. Ben Sidaway has examined
the role of vision when estimating time-to-contact during
landing and driving tasks. Our collaborative work with my
Frank Heuser and Richard Naill has examined the neuromuscular
control strategies used by musicians prior to and during
tone production. Our collaborative work with Drs. Otis,
Zernicke, and Loitz-Ramage has taken a prospective approach
in enhancing our understanding of physiological, psychological,
nutritional, and mechanical factors that may predispose
an athlete to stress related injury associated with repetitive
landing impact. Our collaborative work with Drs. Feltner
and MacRae have taken a prospective approach identification
of gait related factors that may identify older adults at
risk of falling. Our collaborative work with Dr. Carolee
Winstein and her students in the Department of Biokinesiology
and Physical Therapy at USC has focused on qualitative dynamics,
and multijoint solutions used to maintain balance. Our collaborative
work the Orthopaedic Research Hospital has enabled graduate
students to explore functional loading of hip prostheses.
Our collaborative work with the Functional Assessment Laboratory
at UCLA has enabled graduate students to explore functional
control of prostheses during weight acceptance and swing
phases of gait.
McNitt-Gray, J.L.
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Partial List of Refereed Publications
McNitt-Gray, J.L., Yokoi, T., & Millward, C. (1994).
Landing strategies used by gymnasts on different landing
surfaces, Journal of Applied Biomechanics.
Feltner, M., MacRae, P., & McNitt-Gray, J.L. (1994).
Quantitative gait assessment as a predictor of prospective
and retrospective falls in community dwelling older women,
Archives of Physical Medicine.
McNitt-Gray, J.L., Yokoi, T., & Millward, C. (1993).
Landing strategy adjustments made by female gymnasts in
response to drop height and mat composition, Journal of
Applied Biomechanics, 9 (3),173-190.
McNitt-Gray, J. L. (1993). Kinetics of the lower extremity
joints during drop landings from three heights, Journal
of Biomechanics, 25, 1037-1046.
Heuser, F.* & McNitt-Gray, J.L. (1991). EMG potentials
prior to tone commencement in trumpet players, Medical Problems
of Performing Artists, 6, 51-56.
McNitt-Gray, J. L. (1991). Kinematics and impulse characteristics
of drop landings from three heights. International Journal
of Sports Biomechanics, 7, 201-224.
Sidaway, B, McNitt-Gray, J.L., & Davis, G. (1989) Visual
timing of muscle preactivation in preparation for landing,
Ecological Psychology, 1(3), 253-264.
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Examples of Grants Awarded
National Science Foundation, 1995-6
Laboratory Innovation and Improvements in Biomechanics.
International Olympic Committee- Medical Commission, 1995-6
Biomechanics of Preparatory Skills and Landings Performed
by Gymnasts During the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA.
US Olympic Committee, 1993-6
Improvement of Mechanics During Competition using Immediate
Feedback of Kinetic Information.
National Collegiate Athletic Association, 1992
Reduction of Impact Forces Experienced by Female Collegiate
Athletes.
International Olympic Committee Medical Commission, 1992
3D Analyses of Vaults Performed by Gymnasts During the 1992
Olympic Games in Barcelona.
United States Olympic Committee, 1991
The Generation and Reduction of Momentum During Takeoff
and Landing of Tumbling Skills.
National Collegiate Athletic Association, 1990-92
Stress Fracture Risk Assessment among Elite Collegiate Women
Runners.
National Institute of Health Biomedical Research
Support Grant BRSG S07 RR07012-21, 1989-90
Visual Estimation of Time to Contact During Driving.
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