Towards Linking the Mechanics and Energetics of Human Locomotion: Using In-Vivo and In-Silico Techniques

Energy expenditure is considered a key factor in the evolution of animal movement. Over a century of research has sought to uncover the biomechanical determinants of energy expenditure and develop predictive models, yet we are still far from accurately estimating the moment-to-moment costs of any given movement. A major limitation is the lack of proportionate mechanistic mapping of movement to energy expenditure across scales—from muscle and muscle-tendon dynamics to single-joint and whole-body mechanics. This seminar will explore how data from motion capture and musculoskeletal modeling, electromyography, ultrasound, and indirect calorimetry can be integrated to improve conceptual and phenomenological models of mechanics and energetics.

Luke earned his PhD from the University of Queensland, Australia, where he used experimental and computational approaches to help link muscle-, joint- and whole-body- level mechanics to energy expenditure during human movement tasks. In his postdoctoral research at the University of California Irvine, he continues exploring multiscale relationships between mechanics and energetics while also investigating how mechanics across different organizational levels integrate to stabilize limb function during unsteady movements.