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Biomechanics is the studies of how the biological systems are able perform. We can also use biomechanics to improve sporting performances and reduce injuries. My thesis is titled 'The Optimisation of Athlete Movement in Alpine Ski Racing'.

The videos use Fusion Motion Capture, without cameras, for the analysis of the athletes' motion. This represents a big technological step. The principals of motion capture have remained unchanged until now since 1877 when Eadweard Muybridge captured the motion of horses galloping. Rumoured to settle a bet; were all the hooves ever clear of the ground. I am not the first to attempt camera-less motion capture, but I am the first to get it to work accurately in highly dynamic situations. I am the first to have captured the motion of a skiing and skating, completed a full biomechanical analysis without cameras, and displayed the results in a way normal people can understand through innovative data driven animations!

For this work I won the 2008 New Zealand Young Scientists of the Year Awards category for future science and was overall runner up.

I really like skiing fast. In 2004 I was the production class New Zealand Speed Skiing champion, and since then the race has not been held again, so I remain undefeated... it turned out to be a very low effort - high reward event to enter!

For more information I have published several papers on this work in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics, the Journal of Sports Technology and Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering. My next New Zealand conference is Sport and Exercise Science NZ (SESNZ), Dunedin in November. My next international conference may be the International Society of Biomechanics (ISB) in Cape Town 2009. Maybe I will see you there.

I will complete my PhD in the Biomechanics of Alpine Ski Racing late in 2008. I am now looking for the next challenge so if you have a suitable employment opportunity we should talk.