Daniel Russell, Ph.D., will be the featured speaker for the next Faculty Lecture Series event at 12:15 p.m. on February 24 in room 209 at the campus in Center Valley. Russell, an assistant professor of physical therapy at Old Dominion University, will present "Can Physics Contribute to our Understanding of the Complexity and Variability of Human Actions?" This lecture is free and open to the public.
"The computer metaphor underlies much of the research into the study of human behavior," says Russell. "This talk will identify problems with the computer metaphor, specifically in its application to the study of human movement, and demonstrate the utility of an alternative approach employing physics and nonlinear dynamics."
Daniel Russell was born and grew up near Liverpool, England. According to Russell, after "failing miserably to be a professional football (soccer) player," he discovered an interest in the study of how humans learn and produce skilled actions. This led to studies at Manchester Metropolitan University, followed by moving to the United States for graduate work at Louisiana State University and Penn State University. He taught in the kinesiology program at Penn State Berks before recently taking a position in the School of Physical Therapy at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. His research focuses on coordination between limbs and the environment, especially in walking, and this work has been published in highly regarded peer-reviewed journals.
For more information, please contact University Relations at 610-285-5067 or email aag18@psu.edu.