Summer Student Profile - Tim Dorn
Tim Dorn completed a research project with the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the summer of 2006 whilst studying a Bachelor of Engineering / Computer Science (Mechatronics). Tim worked with the School’s Biomechanical Engineering researchers, and looked at strategies to determine the forces transmitted by muscle-tendon to bone to generate movement during basic human tasks. The project involved learning motion capture techniques for gait data capture, as well as further techniques in optimization, control and biomechanics to determine joint torques leading to internal muscle-tendon forces in the lower limb.
As a high school student, Tim followed his keen interest in Mechanical Engineering to undergraduate studies, but when enrolling in his Mechatronics degree didn’t realise he would eventually end up researching in the field of Biomechanics. He got involved in the summer research project after discussing several other project choices, Tim says, “I didn’t know where the research would take me, but I did fit in well with the research group and found the experience rewarding”.
The experience further sparked his interest in the growing field of Biomechanics and he continued exploring this area in his fourth / final year project, where he, “continued looking at walking and running activities to determine why we prefer doing these activities at certain speeds” and collaborated with PhD student, Mirjana Janic, who was looking at full body computer modeling and gait transition issues. By the end of his final year, Tim felt that moving to graduate research in the field would be “a natural progression”, and Tim is now a PhD candidate looking at new techniques using ultrasound to determine muscle structure and functionality, which combined with modeling, will enable a better understanding of sports injuries and inform clinical practice and rehabilitation.
"You can only learn so much sitting in lectures, doing labs and reading. The summer research project opened up a new area to me and showed me what research would be like. There aren’t many biomechanical engineering groups in Australia, so it was a unique opportunity to work in an emerging area with world-leading experts,” Tim says. And now, as a PhD student at the School, “I have flexibility and control over my day to day work. I didn’t want a standard full-time job and doing research at graduate level means I can ultimately choose my own path. The summer research project gave me the chance to try it out before committing, so I would say to anyone thinking about it to give it a go.”