Dr. Thurmon E. Lockhart

Associate Professor

557 Whittemore Hall
Phone: 540-231-9088
Fax: 540-231-3322
Email: lockhart@vt.edu

Biographical Information

Present Position

• Associate Professor of the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
• Primary Faculty of the VT/Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Science
• Guest Professor, Ghent University, Department of Industrial Management, Belgium
• Director, Locomotion Research Laboratory
• Editor, Ergonomics

Education

• Ph.D., Texas Tech, 2000
• M.S., Texas Tech, 1997
• B.S., Texas Tech, 1992

Research Interests and Expertise

• Fall Accidents
• Human locomotion
• Postural control and dynamic stability
• Wearable sensors, mobility assessments
• Occupational biomechanics
• Visual control

Recent Course Responsibilities

• Locomotion Biomechanics
• Research Design
• Industrial Ergonomics
• Work Measurement
• Human Factors

Journal Papers (selected public accessible manuscripts from the PubMed)

Kim, S., and Lockhart, T.E., (In press), Effects of 8 weeks of balance or weight training for the independently living elderly on the outcomes of induced slips. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, May, 2009. PMID: 19773670

Liu, J., and Lockhart, T.E., (2009), Age-related joint moment characteristics during normal gait and successful reactive recovery from unexpected slip perturbations. Gait and Posture, 30, 276-281. PMID: 19581088

Lockhart, TE, Kim, S., Kapur, R., and Jarrott, S., (2009), Evaluation of gait characteristics and ground reaction forces of cognitively declined older adults with emphasis on slip-induced fall accidents. Assistive Technology, 21:188-195. PMID: 20066885

Lee, M., Roan, M., Smith, B., and Lockhart, T.E., (2009), Gait analysis to classify external load conditions using linear discriminant analysis. Human Movement Science, 28, 226-235. PMID: 19162355

Parijat, P., and Lockhart, T.E., (2008), Effects of lower extremity muscle fatigue on the outcomes of slip-induced falls. Ergonomics, 51:12, 1873-1884. PMID: 19034783

Lockhart, T.E., and Liu, J., (2008), Differentiating fall-prone and healthy adults using local dynamic stability. Ergonomics, 51:12, 1860-1872. PMID: 19034782

Parijat, P., and Lockhart, T.E., (2008), Effects of quadriceps fatigue on the biomechanics of gait and slip propensity. Gait and Posture, 28, 568-573. PMID: 18514522

Liu, J., Lockhart, T.E., Jones, M., and Martin, T., (2008), Local Dynamic Stability Assessment of Motion Impaired Elderly using Electronic Textile Pants. IEEE Transactions in Automation Science and Engineering, 5:4, 696-702.

Granata K.P., and Lockhart T.E., (2008), Dynamic stability differences in fall-prone and healthy adults. J. Electromyography & Kinesiology, 18, 172-178. PMID: 17686633

Lockhart, T.E., (2008), An integrated approach towards identifying age-related mechanisms of slip initiated falls. J. Electromyography & Kinesiology, 18, 205-217. PMID: 17762070

Kim, S., Lockhart, T.E., (2008), The Effects of 10% Front Load Carriage on the Likelihood of Slips and Falls. Industrial Health, 46, 32-39. PMID: 18270448

Lockhart, T.E, Spaulding J., and Park, S. H., (2007), Age-related slip avoidance strategy while walking over a known slippery floor surface. Gait & Posture, 26:1, 142-149. PMID: 17023162

Liu, J, and Lockhart, T.E., (2006), Comparison of 3D joint moments using local and global inverse dynamics approaches among three different age groups. Gait and Posture, 23:4, 480-485. PMID: 16112576

Lockhart, T.E., and Kim, S.W., (2006), Relationship Between Hamstring Activation Rate and Heel Contact Velocity: Factors Influencing Age-Related Slip-Induced Falls. Gait and Posture, 24:1, 23-34. PMID: 16112575

Lockhart, T.E., Smith, J.L., and Woldstad, J.C., (2005), Effects of aging on the biomechanics of slips and falls. Human Factors, 47:4, 708-729. PMID: 16553061

Edmison, J., Jones, M., Lockhart T., and Martin T., (2004), An e-textile system for motion analysis. Stud Health Technology Informatics. 108:292-301. PMID: 15718659

James, C. R., Sizer, P. S., Starch, D. W., Lockhart, T.E., and Slauterbeck, J. R., (2004), Gender differences among sagittal plane knee kinematic and ground reaction force characteristics during a rapid sprint and cut maneuver. Research Quarterly Exercise Sport, 75:1, 31-38. PMID: 15532359

Lockhart, T.E., Woldstad, J.C., and Smith, J.L., (2003), Effects of age-related gait changes on biomechanics of slips and falls. Ergonomics, 46:12 1136-1160. PMID: 12933077

Selected Ongoing Research Projects

• Continuous Non-Invasive Gait Analysis and Fall-Risk Assessment

  NSF-CBET-0756058 (VT)/0756645 (UVA) – Collaborative Research - VT PI: Thurmon Lockhart, UVA PI: John Lach ($450,000: 4/01/08 to 3/31/2011). This is a collaborative research project to develop an ambulatory assessment device and algorithms to measure gait and posture utilizing accelerometers and gyroscopes. This device will be used to diagnose fall prone elderly individuals with stability decrements and movement disorders replacing laboratory based motion analysis systems.

• Robust Dexterous RMMV Tasks

  Office of Naval Research (ONR), MCM Advanced Flight Mission Package Program ($745,446.00: 1-01-10 to 12-31-11). PI: Bob Sturges (50%), Co-PI: Lockhart (50%). This project will develop a motion capture demonstration packages to perform workmeasurments in various sea-states.

• Effects of Localized Muscle Fatigue on Risk of Occupational Slips and Falls

  CDC/NIOSH – R01-OH009222 ($1,196,460.00: 9/01/09 – 8/31/13) PI: Lockhart (80%) Co-I: Nussbaum (20%). This project will combine experimental and biomechanical modeling of localized muscle fatigue to quantify the effects of localized muscle fatigue on slip propensity and balance recovery.

Industries Serviced

Construction

Delivery Service Providers

Nursing Homes

Military

Additional links

• www.locomotion.ise.vt.edu