Biomechanics

Focus Area Overview

The Biomechanics focus area prepares students to analyze human movement through the lens of mechanics — how forces, motion, and tissue loading shape performance, development, and injury. Students gain hands-on training in three-dimensional motion capture, force platform analysis, electromyography, plantar pressure measurement, and high-speed video, as well as in the sensing methods that increasingly define contemporary practice: wearable inertial sensors and the computational and machine learning tools used to process movement data at scale. These approaches allow movement to be measured outside the laboratory: on the field, in the clinic, in the home and are now central to how biomechanics is practiced in research, industry, and applied settings alike. The concentration serves students preparing for applied and research careers as well as those continuing to doctoral study or clinical training. Coursework in advanced biomechanics is paired with research methods and statistics, and students develop an independent line of inquiry through thesis work, lab involvement, and conference presentation.

Career Paths

• Sports Performance and Biomechanics Analysis – applying motion capture and force analysis to optimize athletic technique, reduce injury risk, and enhance performance in sport and human performance labs.
• Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Research – assisting in clinics, hospitals, or research settings to analyze movement patterns and support recovery from musculoskeletal injury.
• Ergonomics and Occupational Health – assessing workplace movement and posture to reduce injury risk and improve human factors in industrial or corporate settings.
• Research or Data Analysis – studying human movement in academic labs, biomechanics centers, or health-tech companies using motion capture, force plates, and wearable sensors.
• Product Design and Testing – applying biomechanical principles to develop and evaluate footwear, equipment, wearables, and medical devices in industry R&D settings

Faculty Mentors

Our faculty are active researchers and educators who provide hands-on mentorship in biomechanics.

Scott Lynn, Ph.D.

Guillermo Noffal, Ph.D.        

Priya Patel, Ph.D.

Highlight Research Topic Areas

Biomechanics research at California State University, Fullerton spans sport performance, injury mechanics, and movement development, with an emphasis on translating laboratory measurement into practice. Faculty and students investigate the mechanics of skilled movement, including golf  and baseball mechanics, jumping, landing, and resistance training technique alongside the lower-extremity loading patterns associated with musculoskeletal injury risk and rehabilitation. A parallel line of work examines how movement skills emerge and change across the lifespan, from early childhood motor development through older adulthood. Increasingly, this research draws on wearable sensors and machine learning approaches that allow movement to be measured outside the laboratory and in the settings where it actually occurs. Students work directly with these methods and have opportunities to collect data with athletes, clinical populations, children, and community members from the diverse region the university serves.

• Sport biomechanics and skill analysis (golf, baseball, jumping, throwing, resistance training)
• Lower-extremity mechanics, tissue loading, and musculoskeletal injury risk
• Movement assessment, movement quality, and corrective exercise
• Motor development and motor behavior, including early childhood motor skill acquisition
• Wearable sensors and machine learning for movement analysis

Course Requirements

Students complete core coursework in motor learning, motor control, and research methods, with elective options in biomechanics, neuroscience, and performance analysis. A research thesis or project allows students to apply theory to real-world questions in human movement.

All official graduate study plans must include:

• KNES 508 – Statistical Methods in Kinesiology
• KNES 510 – Research Methods in Kinesiology
• Two 500-level advanced courses, including:
  • KNES 551 – Advanced Study in Biomechanics (required)
  • Plus one of the following:
    • KNES 551 – Advanced Study in Physiology of Exercise
    • KNES 571 – Advanced Study in Human Motor Control and Learning