Want to be a research participant?
First, your consideration to participate is greatly appreciated. We conduct research primarily to help society, so participants are the unsung heroes of the societal advancements stemming from our research. We do everything in our power to make sure your participation is as pleasant, productive, and safe as possible. This includes strict COVID-19 precautions to keep you healthy. Most of the research we do is in the lab (see picture at this link). This is a private wing of our building where only trained lab professionals will be assisting you (usually 2-3 people). We primarily do research using motion capture technology. It is basically the same technology that Disney and Pixar use to turn actor motions into animated characters. See one of Dr. Catena’s daughters do her 2nd grade science project on video game animation in the lab in the video below. The video on the left is the only image our motion capture system saves when you participate in research. The video on the right was captured only for demonstration in this video. We will not capture the real video on the right during your research experience, and there will probably be no fun background music like this video either 🙂
Below is a list of our ongoing research studies, click on each to learn more:
Need us to do some contract or consulting work?
Before his academic positions, Dr. Catena worked in biomechanical consulting. He has experience in:
– Injury causation analysis, especially pertaining to slip/trip/fall
– Clinical analyses related to gait, posture, and balance
– Device (physical and mobile app) validation
– Workplace assessment of slip/trip/fall hazards and distractions (using mobile eye tracker)
– Expert witness testimony
If you have a particular need, please contact Dr. Catena directly at robert.catena@wsu.edu.
Want to make a donation to the lab?
If you wish to support our research and our students’ educations, we have a staff for development in place to help you make those donations. Please contact Dr. Catena and thank you for your interest.
Phone: (509) 335-4250 Email: robert.catena@wsu.edu Location: Smith Gym 19 and 21, Pullman WA 99164-1410