Richard Van Emmerik

Professor

Our research focuses on the aea of motor control and coordination. We apply principles from complex and nonlinear dynamical systems to the study of posture and locomotion. We place particular emphasis on mechanisms of stability and adaptability in movement coordination. An important research focus is the role of variability in the control of movement.

Current Research
Dynamic Balance Control and Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis Effects of Armor and Load on Action-Perception Coupling

Learn more at www.umass.edu/motorcontrol/

Academic Background

BS Vrije Universiteit, the Netherlands, 1984
PhD University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1990
Postdoctoral Training: Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1990-1993

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Publications

Palmer, C.J., Riccio, G.E., & Van Emmerik, R.E.A. (2012). Orienting under load: Intrinsic dynamics and postural affordances for visual perception. Ecological Psychology, 24(2), 95-121.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10407413.2012.673970

Seay, J., Van Emmerik, R.E.A., & Hamill, J. (2011). Differences between pelvis-trunk coordination in runners with and without low back pain. Spine, 36, 1070-1079.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2010.11.012

Van Emmerik, R.E.A., Remelius, J.G., Johnson, M.B., Chung, L.H., & Kent-Braun, J.A. (2010). Postural Control in women with multiple sclerosis: Effects of fatigue and vision during quiet stance and postural perturbations. Gait & Posture, 32, 608-614.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2010.09.002

Hasson, C.J., Caldwell, G.E., & Van Emmerik, R.E.A. (2009). Scaling of plantarflexor muscle activity and postural control time-to-contact in response to upper-body perturbations in young and older adults. Experimental Brain Research, 196(3), 413-427.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00221-009-1865-7

Van Emmerik, R.E.A. & Van Wegen (2002). On the functional aspects of variability in postural control. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 30(4), 177-183.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12398115

Contact Info

Kinesiology
160 Totman Hall
30 Eastman Lane
Amherst, MA 01003

(413) 545-0325
rvanemmerik@kin.umass.edu

www.umass.edu/motorcontrol/