Mark Grabiner honored with Borelli Award
For researcher Mark Grabiner, receiving the Borelli Award from the American Society of Biomechanics “was the most awesome thing that has ever happened, or ever will happen, in my professional life.”
Grabiner, professor of kinesiology and nutrition, received the award — the society’s highest honor — at its annual conference Aug. 8-11. The award, which recognizes outstanding career accomplishment and exemplary research in biomechanics, is named for 17th century physicist, physiologist and mathematician Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, considered the father of biomechanics.
The Borelli Award winner presents a lecture at the conference — talks that are often research-focused and technical. “But this was such a profound honor, I decided to take a different direction,” Grabiner says. “I thought I would talk to the next generation of scientists coming up.”
Instead of presenting a data-intensive review of his three decades of research, which concerns the causes and prevention of falls in older adults, Grabiner gave the audience of more than 1,000 conference-goers a different message: Embrace randomness, because you never know where it will take you.
Grabiner told a personal story about his life and career, including the fellow researchers, graduate students and postdocs he has worked with along the way.