As the 2017 Louis Vuitton and Red Bull Youth America’s Cup competitions reach their climax this week, we highlight the efforts of our engineering researchers who have worked alongside elite teams and across the sporting spectrum.
Our long-standing working relationship with the English Institute of Sport’s Research and Innovation team has seen many world-class athletes put through their paces with superb successes from cyclists, swimmers, sailors and Skeleton sliders.
Research fellow, Dr Joe Banks, is based in the University’s Performance Sports Engineering Lab and is currently studying hydrofoils – the type used by America’s Cup teams – focusing on their performance changes and how they are deformed by fluid forces.
Joe’s talented group of PhD students also hope to take their research into the field of improving sailor performance by studying how their positions can be measured and analysed while out on the water, as well as continuing to help athletes achieve their goals in a range of other sports.
Dr Joe Banks says:
“We have had a strong relationship with a number of sports, particularly through our relationship with the English Institute of Sport. We invest highly in our PhD students and through our work we are certainly world leading in terms of performance sports engineering.
“On a personal level you get to see the direct impact that you are having on a sport and on individual athletes and that is really incredible to see.”
Click here to read more about our work in optimising sport performance.
