Thomas A. Stoffregen, Ph.D., director of the Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory and professor of kinesiology, along with four colleagues, have had an article, "Getting Your Sea Legs," accepted for publication in PLOS ONE, an international, peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication that features reports of original research from all disciplines within science and medicine.

The article reports research conducted at the beginning of the Spring 2012 voyage of Semester at Sea, and was conducted on board the M/V Explorer as it travelled from the Bahamas to the Commonwealth of Dominica. The research team conducted the first controlled experiments relating body sway to the processes by which novice mariners "get their sea legs."

Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, gave a talk at New York University in the Department of Psychology on April 25. His talk was titled, "How Plato is used to brainwash helpless toddlers."

Stoffregen has also given this lecture in 2011 at the 16th International Conference on Perception and Action, in Ouro Preto, Brazil. That audience reflected on his talk and described it as a "heartfelt, incredibly serious, and also hilarious, talk on this subject."

School of Kinesiology alumna Azizah Jor'dan, Ph.D., was recently selected by the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) to receive the Outstanding Student Paper Award in the Developmental Perspectives: Motor Control, Coordination, Rehabilitation (DP:MCCR) topic area. This award recognizes meritorious research by student members of NASPSPA.

As NASPSPA's 2013 recipient, Jor'dan will be recognized at the annual business meeting during this year's conference in New Orleans. Along with the distinction of this award, Dr. Jor'dan will receive a plaque, a $350 award, the opportunity to present her research at the Canadian Society of Sport Psychology and Psychomotor Learning (SCAPPS), and funding for her travel to SCAPPS.

Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, along with doctoral candidate Yi-Chou Chen, alumni Fu-Chen Chen, Ph.D., and Taiwanese colleagues, are to publish in, Gait and Posture. Their contribution is titled, "Cognitive and postural precursors of motion sickness in adolescent boxers."

Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, will be participating at a free exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts (MIA) entitled, "Superimpostor."

Minnesota artists, David Bowen and Brett Smith, create kinetic sculptures through the use of computer imaging and cinematic illusions. Stoffregen will comment on this exhibit Thursday, March 21, at 7:00 p.m.

Justin Munafo has been awarded a 2013-2014 Diversity of Views & Experiences (DOVE) Fellowship from the Office for Diversity in Graduate Education.

Munafo has been admitted to the Kinesiology Ph.D. program for Fall 2013. He will be studying in the Movement Science focus area, specifically perception and action, with Tom Stoffregen, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology, as his adviser. Munafo received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Dayton, and has been doing research at the University of Cincinnati's Perceptual-Motor Dynamics lab.

"Justin is a very promising young scholar whose background and interests are a perfect fit with what we do in the Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory," said Dr. Stoffregen. "Justin's outreach efforts will help to motivate young Native Americans to pursue careers in scientific research."

Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, gave a talk in the colloquium series of the University of Minnesota's Center for Clinical Movement Science on February 18. Stoffregen describes research on postural control and adaptations in individuals who were at sea for the first time. The title of his talk was "Getting your sea legs."

Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, has accepted an invitation to join the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Movement Science and Sport Psychology. Frontiers is an online, open access journal that seeks to research various facets within the psychological movement sciences.

Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, gave a presentation to a class of sixth-grade students at Brimhall Elementary School, in Roseville, MN. In his talk, "Going to work in space," he described his experiences and research at the Kennedy Spaceflight Center where he has worked in Launch Control during the development of the space shuttle.

He also has experience at both the Goddard Spaceflight Center and the Johnson Space Center. While at Goddard, he was key in helping design the International Space Station, and he worked with astronauts on problems of human perceptual-motor control in weightlessness while at the Johnson Space Center.

Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, was referenced in an article in the January 2013 issue of Scientific American. The article, "The Multisensory Revolution: Why Your Brain is a Sensory Smoothie," describes how different senses, such as hearing and seeing, can relay similar perceptions to the brain. Stoffregen's work has enforced the idea that the brain is a multisensory organ, while exemplifying how the brain and human senses work.