Faculty

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