Welcome to HMB Lab!

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Introduction

The Cal Poly Human Motion Biomechanics Laboratory (HMB Lab), led by faculty members Dr. Steve Klisch (Mechanical Engineering), Dr. Scott Hazelwood (Biomedical Engineering), Ms. Christie O'Hara (Kinesiology), Dr. Britta Berg-Johansen (Biomedical Engineering) and Dr. Brian Self (Mechanical Engineering) is located in building 52, room D17 on the Cal Poly campus. The HMB Lab is focused on B.S. and M.S. student research that aligns with the mission of our predominantly undergraduate university. Our research team is interdisciplinary, and currently involves students and faculty from the Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Departments in the College of Engineering, the Kinesiology and Statistics Departments in the College of Science and Mathematics, and the Food Science & Nutrition Department in the College of Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences.

Our mission is to:

  • conduct sports and exercise biomechanics research, with focus on injury & disease prevention, that benefits society
  • enrich interdisciplinary student-learning experiences at Cal Poly
  • enhance student success in their careers

The HMB Lab conducts biomechanical analyses of human motion to determine joint loads and motion. The  foundation of the HMB Lab is a complete motion analysis system (MAS) with 12 motion capture cameras, ground force plates, several exercise machines instrumented with load cells, EMG and IMU sensors, and inverse dynamics analysis software. Currently, the HMB Lab’s primary research areas are

  • improving gait and balance biomechanics in children who are overweight - who are at high risk for early onset knee joint osteoarthritis
  • improving evidence-based injury prevention guidelines for youth baseball and softball pitchers - who are at high risk for sports-related injuries

The HMB Lab faculty work diligently to mentor Cal Poly’s students in the hope that they become leaders in their profession. Also, we work to maintain a strong international exchange program for researchers and have exchanged visiting scholars (students, post-docs, and professors)  with the following partners

  • Politecnico di Torino (Italy)
  • Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
  • Munich University of Applied Sciences (Germany)
  • University of Bergamo (Italy)
  • University of Eindhoven (Netherlands)

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