Science of Speed

Reported November 2009

TROY, N.Y. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- In world-class athletic competitions, it used to be that events were won by the person with the most athletic ability, but these days, talent alone may not be enough to win the gold. When every hundredth of a second counts, science and technology can help even the strongest athletes take their performance to the next level.

When Ariana Kukors won a record-breaking gold medal this summer, fluid dynamics engineer doctor Tim Wei, Ph.D., felt like a winner too. They used experimental flow analysis techniques to help them increase their power and speed.

"It's basically using what we know about the physics of fluids or fluid flow, and applying it to a very applied problem like the swimmer," Dr. Wei, of the Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., told Ivanhoe.

Combining mathematics and stop-motion technology, this system measures the flow the swimmer generates and calculates the thrust in every stroke.

"In an individual race, every little bit of technique is going to add up," Dr. Wei said.

But it's more than swimming. Today, John Vaccaro is helping Dr. Wei set up for the next phase of his research, using wind tunnel tests to reduce drag and improve finishing times for the U.S. skeleton team.

"You can actually look at your movements and see how it really changes your drag, so you can make sure you don't do those when you get in the competition," Vaccaro said.

From sleds to swimming the goal is the same -- becoming the fastest and crossing the finish line first.

For athletes like the U.S. swim team, research in Dr. Wei's lab is just a starting point. The data helps trainers refine athlete's techniques to improve their distance per stroke and improve their finish times. U.S. swimmers have to wait until 2012, but members of the U.S. skeleton team hope we'll be seeing their success stories in the next Olympic games in 2010 in Vancouver.

The American Physical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.-USA, the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Timothy Wei, PhD
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, New York 12180-3590
(518) 276-6298
weit@rpi.edu

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
IEEE
Pender McCarter
IEEE http://www.ieee.org
IEEE-USA http://www.ieeeusa.org
p.mccarter@ieee.org

Ivars Peterson
Mathematical Association of America,
Washington, DC 20036-1358
(800) 741-9415
http://www.maa.org
ipeterson@maa.org

James Riordon, Media Relations
American Physical Society
College Park, MD
(301) 209-3238
http://www.aps.org
Riordon@aps.org

Mike Breen and Annette Emerson
American Mathematical Society
Providence, RI 02904-2294
(800) 321-4267
http://www.ams.org
paoffice@ams.org

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