Research Scientist in the Center for Applied Biomechanics

About the position

The University of Virginia, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, is seeking applicants for a Research Scientist position at the Center for Applied Biomechanics. General duties will include managing complex experimental projects including designing, conducting, analyzing, and reporting on results. The Research Scientist will assist in the development of new research projects with a special emphasis on military projects as well as longitudinal surveys of specialty populations towards the potential for injury. The position will also include supervision of graduate research assistants, technical staff, and junior researchers in project-specific tasks.

Responsibilities

• Manage complex experimental projects including designing, conducting, analyzing, and reporting on results.
• Assist in the development of new research projects with emphasis on military projects.
• Conduct longitudinal surveys of specialty populations towards the potential for injury.
• Supervise graduate research assistants, technical staff, and junior researchers in project-specific tasks.

Requirements

• A Ph.D. or a Master's degree in Mechanical or Biomedical Engineering, with emphasis in injury biomechanics and a background in human volunteer testing. A Ph.D. is preferred.
• A minimum of four years of experience in injury biomechanics, biomechanics testing, instrumentation and testing using cadavers, dummies, and volunteers, mechanical design, and the development of signal processing algorithms using Matlab.
• At least two years of demonstrated experience with impact biomechanics testing (e.g., sports, automotive, military), experimental protocol design, test procedure documentation, technical report preparation, and active participation in a multi-disciplinary research team.
• Fundamental understanding of the unique injury mechanisms associated with high-rate loadings to the human body.
• Minimum of three years of direct and demonstrable experience with mechanical system design, including proficiency with computer aided design (CAD) software.
• Minimum of five years of demonstrable proficiency in high-quality technical writing, and a proven publishing record.
• Knowledge in kinematic and kinetic biomechanical data analyses, including development and implementation of customized filtering algorithms, development and implementation of inverse dynamics algorithms, rigid body kinematic transformations, and error analyses.
• Knowledge in scientific computer programming for the development and implementation of advanced data analysis algorithms in a common scientific programming language (for example, Matlab).
• Prior experience in working with a diverse group of researchers and sponsors with varying technical expertise.

Nice-to-haves

• Set-up and operation of high speed data acquisition systems including DTS products such as SLICE, SLICE Pro and TDAS.
• Set-up and operation of high speed digital imager systems including Memrecam products such as the GX1 (or equivalent).
• Set-up and use of high-energy test devices in biomechanical testing applications, including the development and implementation of control algorithms and integration of the test device operation with peripheral test systems (e.g., Vicon, ARAMIS).
• Experience with Vicon motion capture, including camera setup, operation, processing using predefined validated anatomical models, and the development of customized processing algorithms for subject-specific kinematic transformation and analysis.
• Experience in scientific statistical analyses for quantitative hypothesis testing.