The Biomechanics Initiative & National Biomechanics Day Celebrate the Breakthrough Science of the 21st Century
Dear Biomechanists, High School Students and Teachers and All Participating Friends and Colleagues,
National Biomechanics Day is the long running, Biomechanics STEM and STEAM (A for Arts) outreach program occuring around the world. While we started in the United States in 2016, by the following year, Biomechanists from many nations were holding NBD events. And what is an NBD event? Simply, one of the most fun, current STEM and STEAM outreach activities exciting young people about the science of Biomechanics and careers in Biomechanics. Those careers extend into many industries and academia and allow one to become a biomechanics scientist or practitioner, both of whom help people live healthier and happier lives.
Without doubt, there are more smiles on more faces in more Biomechanics and science labs around the world on NBD than on any other day!!! We kid you not and invite you to see our Archives containing thousands (millions?) of photos of smiling faces from NBD 2016 through NBD 2022! NBD events introduce Biomechanics to high school students and their teachers showing them the Breakthrough Science of the 21st Century!!! We enthusiastically invite you to participate in NBD 2023 through a demonstration to high school students visiting your lab or by creating a new and unique celebration never conceived previously.
The Biomechanics Initiative, Inc the non-profit, parent organization of NBD primarily promotes Biomechanics science and its application around the world. We also provide grant funding for a variety of people to both host NBD events and to attend Biomechanics conferences and other activities. Please see our Grants and Scholarships page for these opportunities.
The mission of both The Biomechanics Initiative and NBD is to advance Biomechanics science and education by increasing the awareness and appreciation of Biomechanics within the worldwide high school community. NBD 2023 will be our eighth NBD celebration following the hugely successful and enjoyable events the previous seven years. These Biomechanics celebrations had over 35,800 smiling high school students and over 1,200 smiling teachers in Biomechanics Labs around the world (mostly live but some virtually in 2022). NBD 2023 will be fun, exciting, and enjoyable science for everyone. In fact, our theme is, “Science Meets Fun on National Biomechanics Day.” It really does! We ask all biomechanists, really every biomechanist scientist and practitioner, to volunteer for and participate in NBD 2023. While we provide extensive guidance, it’s also really easy: invite some high school students to your biomechanics facility and show them cool biomechanics science! Kids love NBD events because they fully participate in the experience through motion capture, electromyography, and force measurement, “experiments.” They are the science!!!
Biomechanics is the fundamental example of STEM and STEAM educational initiatives. It combines Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics into one awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, human-enhancing, creative endeavor. Kids love it, are amazed by it, and are drawn to it. National Biomechanics Day will be a unified and synchronized celebration of Biomechanics among all participating laboratories. We will all work together on April 5, 2023** and demonstrate Biomechanics to high school students and teachers and parents, too.
Please return to this NBD website regularly in the coming weeks and months. We will continually add new materials and information related to NBD 2023. We are ever so grateful for your interest and participation in National Biomechanics Day.
Sincerely,
Paul DeVita, Ph.D.
Founder and Director, The Biomechanics Initiative and National Biomechanics Day, Professor of Kinesiology, East Carolina University and
Past President, American Society of Biomechanics
**While most sites will hold NBD 2023 on April 5th, some cannot due to scheduling conflicts. These sites will celebrate NBD on many different dates that work best for each site. We welcome NBD celebrations on any day! **
