By Paul DeVita, PhD
National Biomechanics Day 2023 is gearing up for a new year and we can’t wait to have you join us on the ride! Set your sites on April 5, 2023 for this year’s big event!
We are pleased to report that we have announced our 2023 grant recipients which included 23 grants totaling over $21,000 for graduate students from 7 nations around the world. These grants support NBD events focused on increasing diversity in Biomechanics through events with women, black and LatinX students, and programs working in disability biomechanics. The women’s program continues to get the most applications and we funded 9 of 17 in this group. As we say, National Biomechanics Day is now part of the Biomechanics Firmament and through our grant programs, we are now able to give back to our fans, supporters, and the field of Biomechanics. The grant programs are partially funded through donations from all our sponsors but are also directly sponsored by Bertec, Inc, The American Society of Biomechanics, and Books of Discovery.
In other news, NBD is collaborating with the new and vibrant organization, International Women in Biomechanics, to fulfill our often stated idea, “NBD provides a platform upon which we unite into one synchronized, worldwide celebration of Biomechanics.” We will synchronize 3 independent NBD events through a virtual link-up. Each event will show the other 2, “what’s happenin’ in Biomechanics,” at its site. The high school participants will better understand the around-the-world nature of NBD and of Biomechanics, itself. This synchronized NBD event will occur on the official NBD date, April 5, 2023. Please watch for the link on Twitter and join in if you can.
In the “well, that’s interesting” category: While there have been (approximately) a billion biomechanics science articles, two billion smiles on kids’ faces during NBD events, and… a few good NBD stories, we have now produced our first NBD Parable. In fact, we are pretty sure it is the first parable on anything Biomechanics. Why? Because we love to have fun while promoting the Breakthrough Science of the 21st Century!!! Please take a few minutes to watch the parable (it’s less than 5 minutes long) and learn how our Biomechanics-STEM outreach will enhance and grow the science and the application of Biomechanics. Then perhaps, if you are not signed up already, consider holding an NBD event this year. It’s very simple: invite high school kids to your lab and show them fun and cool Biomechanics, as has been done at over 500 NBD events worldwide throughout the past few years and shown in our Archives. Please join the worldwide NBD celebration this year.
Paul DeVita, PhD, is director of the Biomechanics Laboratory and professor of kinesiology at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He is past-president of the American Society of Biomechanics and a leader in The Biomechanics Initiative which hosts National Biomechanics Day. He also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for Lower Extremity Review.
