Professor Joseph Hamill, PhD

Title of Keynote Address:
Rearfoot and forefoot footfall patterns: Implications for barefoot running

Dr. Hamill received a B.A. (political science) from York University, Toronto, a B.S. from Concordia University (Science), Montreal, and both an M.S. and Ph.D. (biomechanics) from University of Oregon. Presently, he is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts and has been the Director of the Biomechanics Laboratory for the past 25 years. He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Limerick, Ireland and at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, a Distinguished Research Professor at the Republic Polytechnic in Singapore and a Staff Scientist at the Shriner's Hospital for Children in Springfield, MA. Dr. Hamill previously served as Chair of the department for 11 years and as Associate Dean of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences for 3 years. He has authored or co-authored over 120 research papers, over 160 research proceedings, several book chapters and three books. He has also presented over 170 papers at local, national and international conferences.

During his academic career, Dr. Hamill has mentored over 45 doctoral and Master's students. He has served on the Executive Boards of the International Society of Biomechanics, the Footwear Biomechanics Group, the Internationals Society of Biomechanics in Sports, the New England Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine and the Canadian Society of Biomechanics. Currently, Dr. Hamill is the Chair-Elect of the Footwear Biomechanics Group and a Member-at-large on the Executive Board of the National Academy of Kinesiology.

His research interests are focused on lower extremity biomechanics during normal and pathological locomotion. Dr. Hamill has utilized modeling and dynamical systems to study optimization of human locomotion.