About the Lab
The Sport Biomechanics Lab at the University of Calgary studies how athletes interact with footwear, sport surfaces, and wearable technologies.
Our research combines laboratory and field-based biomechanics to better understand movement, loading, injury risk, and performance in sport. We collaborate with athletes, clinicians, and industry partners to translate research into real-world applications.
Sport Surface Mechanics
We investigate how sport surface properties influence athlete movement, loading, and injury risk across different sports, with applications to performance and safety.
Footwear Biomechanics
Our research examines how footwear design affects biomechanics, comfort, and performance, including the role of stiffness, traction, and material properties.
Wearable Sensor Analytics
We use wearable technologies such as plantar pressure systems and inertial sensors to quantify athlete movement in real-world environments and inform performance and injury prevention.
Principal Investigator
Bill Wannop
Assistant Professor
University of Calgary
Bill Wannop is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary and Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal Footwear Science. His research focuses on sport biomechanics, examining how athletes interact with footwear, sport surfaces, and wearable sensor technologies to improve performance, safety, and health, with a particular emphasis on female athletes.
Selected experience: Collaborations with industry and sport organizations including adidas, Under Armour, Garmin, Superfeet, World Rugby, the NFL, and the NBA, with 50+ peer-reviewed publications and 190+ industry reports in sport biomechanics, footwear, and wearable sensor research.
Lab Environment
Our research takes place within the world-famous Human Performance Lab (HPL) at the University of Calgary, a state-of-the-art facility equipped for advanced biomechanical testing, motion capture, and human performance assessment.
The Sport Biomechanics Lab integrates laboratory and field-based approaches to study athlete movement in real-world environments. We work closely with athletes, clinicians, and industry partners to translate research into practical applications that enhance performance, safety, and participation in sport.
The University of Calgary is also investing in the future of human performance research through the development of the Taylor Family Kinesiology Building, which will further expand opportunities for interdisciplinary research, collaboration, and innovation in sport science and health.
We are committed to fostering a collaborative and supportive research environment, where trainees develop strong skills in experimental design, data analysis, and scientific communication. Students in the lab gain hands-on experience with wearable technologies, advanced biomechanical analysis tools, and applied sport settings, connecting scientific inquiry with real-world performance contexts.
Research Team
The Sport Biomechanics Lab studies human movement in sport through research in biomechanics, engineering and sport science. Our team works with athletes, coaches and industry partners to address practical questions and improve performance, safety and equipment design. Our team combines expertise in biomechanics, engineering, and sport science to address real-world challenges in sport performance, safety and equipment design.
Professor Emeritus
Darren Stefanyshyn
Professor Emeritus
University of Calgary
Darren is a mechanical engineer with specialization in biomechanics. His experience in sport biomechanics is extensive, with a thorough history investigating athletic equipment and its interaction with athletes concentrating on performance and athlete safety. The work done by Dr. Stefanyshyn encompasses many different sport domains, including sprinting, basketball, football, soccer, speed skating, hockey, tennis, and general human locomotion.
Dr. Stefanyshyn has been working with industry partners for over 25 years, having collaborated with world leaders such as adidas, TaylorMade, Mark's Work Wearhouse, Ariat International, the Canadian Olympic Team, as well as sport leagues such as the NHL, NBA and NFL. In addition, Darren is the President of Sport Insight Inc.
Current Lab Members
Meet the current members of the Sport Biomechanics Lab, including undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows with expertise spanning biomechanics, engineering, data analysis and sport science.
Katherine Batista
Research Technician
Footwear, Running Biomechanics
David McNish
MSc Student Kinesiology
Sport Surfaces
Chloe Smith
Undergraduate Summer Student
Ringette/Hockey Biomechanics
Jake Ruschkowski
Research Technician
Wearable sensors and sport surfaces
Emily Dittmer
MSc Student Biomedical Engineering
Footwear
Stijn Wolters
Visiting Student
Musculoskeletal Modelling
Robin Trama
Post Doctoral Fellow
Wearable Sensors
Morgan Seeley
Undergraduate Student
Ankle Instability
Zixiang Gao
Post Doctoral Fellow
Modelling and Machine Learning
Meghan Rogers
Undergraduate Student
Footwear, Female Biomechanics
Featured Publications
Selected recent publications highlighting our work in sport biomechanics and athlete–environment interactions.
Influence of sport surface properties on utilized traction and lower extremity biomechanics of American football players.
Wannop, J.W., Kowalchuk, S., Smith, E., Aldahir, P., Spratley, EM, O'Cain, C, Park, G., Stefanyshyn, D.J. (2026)
Applied Sciences, 16(5), 2423.
View paper
The influence of forefoot bending stiffness on running economy and biomechanics in male and female runners.
Durante, G., Clermont, C., Barrons, Z., Fukuchi, C., Stefanyshyn, D.J., Wannop, J.W. (2024)
Footwear Science, 16(3), 171–177.
View paper
The traction requirements of female and male basketball players.
Barrons, Z., Esposito, M., Stefanyshyn, D.J., Wannop, J.W. (2023)
Footwear Science, 15(1), 28–34.
View paper
Footwear traction and lower extremity non-contact injury.
Wannop, J.W., Luo, G., Stefanyshyn, D.J. (2013)
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 45(11), 2137–2143.
View paper
View full publication list: Google Scholar
Opportunities
We are always interested in connecting with motivated students, researchers and collaborators interested in sport biomechanics, wearable technology, footwear, sport performance and athlete–surface interactions.
Graduate Students
Prospective MSc and PhD students are encouraged to get in touch with a CV and a brief description of their research interests.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Opportunities may be available for candidates with expertise in biomechanics, wearable sensing, data science, or sport performance.
Industry & Research Collaborations
We welcome partnerships with clinicians, industry, and sport organizations interested in applied biomechanics research.
Interested in joining the lab?
Please contact Bill Wannop with a CV and a brief statement of research interests - b.wannop@ucalgary.ca