American Society of Biomechanics

The American Society of Biomechanics (ASB) is a scholarly society that focuses on biomechanics across a variety of academic fields.^[1] It was founded in 1977 by a group of scientists and clinicians.^[2] The ASB holds an annual conference as an arena to disseminate and learn about the most recent progress in the field, to distribute awards to recognize excellent work, and to engage in public outreach to expand the impact of its members.

Conferences

The society hosts an annual conference that takes place in North America (usually USA). These conferences are periodically joint conferences held in conjunction with the International Society of Biomechanics (ISB), the North American Congress on Biomechanics (NACOB), and the World Congress of Biomechanics (WCB). The annual conference, when not partnered with another conference, receives around 700 to 800 abstract submissions per year, with attendees in approximately the same numbers.^[3] The first conference was held in 1977.^[4]

Often, work presented at these conferences achieves media attention due to the ‘public interest’ nature of the findings or that new devices are introduced there. Examples include:

• the effect of tablet reading on cervical spine posture;^[5]
• the squeak of the basketball shoe;^[6]
• ‘underwear’ to address back-pain;^{[7][8][9][10]}
• recovery after exercise;^[11]
• exoskeleton boots for joint pain during exercise;^[12]
• how flamingos stand on one leg.^[13][14][15]

National Biomechanics Day

The ASB is instrumental in promoting National Biomechanics Day (NBD), which has received international recognition.^[16] In New Zealand, Massey University attracted NZ$48,000 of national funding^[17] through the Unlocking Curious Minds programme to promote National Biomechanics Day, with the aim to engage 1,100 students from lower-decile schools in an experiential learning day focused on the science of biomechanics.^[18]

It was first held in 2016 on April 7, and consisted of ‘open house’ visits from middle and high school students to biomechanics research and teaching laboratories across the US. ^[19][20]

In 2017, NBD was held on April 6. An estimated 7000+ number of high school students participated in events around USA and internationally^[21] with significant media attention ^{[22][23][24][25]} International participation was recognised from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Taiwan.

Awards

The society grants a number of annual awards both honouring individuals in the field, and honouring notable research projects. The most notable of these is the Borelli Award, which has been awarded annually since 1984 for outstanding career accomplishment in any field of biomechanics. Past winners include: ^[26]

Year	Winner
2016	Ted Gross
2015	Rodger Kram
2014	Vijay Goel
2013	Kenton Kaufman
2012	Carlo DeLuca

References

1. Duane Knudson, "Fundamentals of Biomechanics", Springer Science & Business Media, 2013
2. "Home". asbweb.org.
3. . biomch-l.isbweb.org. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07.
4. "ASB Annual Conferences". American Society of Biomechanics. American Society of Biomechanics. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
5. "U of A Brings Home Award for Student's Presentation on Tablet Research". University of Arkansas News. Retrieved 26 Oct 2017.
6. "Science behind the squeak of a basketball shoe". The Blade. Retrieved 26 Oct 2017.
7. "Smart underwear prevents back stress with just a tap". Research News @ Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 26 Oct 2017.
8. "This smart underwear can reduce back pain". TechRadar. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 26 Oct 2017.
9. "Smart Underwear May Prevent Back Pain". Pain News Network. Retrieved 26 Oct 2017.
10. "Would You Wear This Batman-Style Underwear to Fight Back Pain?". Men's Health. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 26 Oct 2017.
11. Johannes, Laura (29 August 2016). "Can a Sulfur Compound Speed Recovery After Exercise?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 Oct 2017.
12. Johannes, Laura (8 June 2015). "Can Boots With Springs Help Ease Joint Pain During Exercise?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 Oct 2017.
13. "Why Flamingos Are More Stable on One Leg Than Two". The Atlantic magazine. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
14. "Why Do Flamingos Stand on One Leg?". National Geographic. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
15. "Flamingo balancing act saves energy". BBC News. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
16. "Students leap for National Biomechanics Day". The Gisborne Herald. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
17. "Projects funded by Curious Minds programmes". Curious Minds. Retrieved 2 Aug 2017.
18. "$2 million to engage young kiwis with science". National Party Press Releases. National Party. Retrieved 2 Aug 2017.
19. "Center for Biomechanical Engineering Research welcomes high school students". University of Delaware Daily. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
20. "High school students learn about biomechanics". Penn State News. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
21. "Summary NBD 2017". American Society of Biomechanics. Retrieved 26 Oct 2017.
22. "Michigan Tech reaches out to schools for Biomechanics Day". Upper Michigan Source. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
23. . University of Denver Newsroom. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
24. "Irving students gain hands-on experience during Rush Hospital visit". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
25. "Effingham County Career Academy students get glimpse of sports medicine in action". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 26 Oct 2017.
26. . American Society of Biomechanics. American Society of Biomechanics. Archived from the original on 2013-11-22. Retrieved 30 July 2017.