Richard Neptune, professor in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, receives the Jim Hay Memorial Award from the American Society of Biomechanics.
The Jim Hay Memorial Award recognizes originality, quality, and depth of biomechanics research that address fundamental research questions relevant to the extraordinary demands imposed in sport and exercise.
Dr. Richard R. Neptune earned his BS, MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis where his graduate advisor was Dr. Maury Hull. He then did a post-doc at the University of Calgary and worked with Dr. Ton van den Bogert and Dr. Walter Herzog, and then as a Biomedical Engineer at the Palo Alto VA R&D Center where he worked with Dr. Felix Zajac and Dr. Steve Kautz. He has served on the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty at UT Austin since 2001 and recently completed a 6-year term as Department Chair. He directs the Neuromuscular Biomechanics Lab where they seek to improve the quality of life for individuals with movement disabilities by integrating musculoskeletal modeling, computer simulation and experimental analyses to identify the biomechanical and neuromotor mechanisms that contribute to locomotor impairments. His lab also seeks to improvevarious aspects of sports performance and the effectiveness of orthotic and prosthetic devices using design optimization and additive manufacturing techniques. He has served as an Associate Editor for the ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering and on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Applied Biomechanics. He has received a number of awards for his teaching and research including the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Award for Excellence in Engineering Teaching from UT Austin, the Van C. Mow Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Founders Award from the American Society of Biomechanics. He is a fellow of both the American Society of Biomechanics and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He currently holds the William and Bettye Nowlin Chair in Engineering.
