Travis Peterson, Ph.D.

About

Travis Peterson joined the faculty at Cal Lutheran in 2017 and is an Assistant Professor of Biomechanics in the Exercise Science Department. He teaches EXSC 201: Functional Anatomy, EXSC 301: Biomechanics, EXSC 325: Statistics and Research Methods, EXSC 340: Motor Learning and Control, UNIV 101: First Year Seminar, and SCI 101: Exploring STEM through Research.

Along with his teaching responsibilities, Travis is interested in understanding the underlying mechanisms that elite athletes utilize to compete at the highest level. He incorporates force plate and motion capture data collection as well as interactive learning opportunities in his research to accomplish this task. His current research involves understanding the interplay of kinetics and kinematics during well-practiced, goal directed tasks which include:

1) Golf players as they create rotation and maintain balance while regulating golf shot distance under varying playing conditions and with varying clubs/club characteristics

2) American Football Long Snappers as they perform different secondary blocking motions

3) Triathlete running after the cycling to running transition

He has experience working with groups from many different arenas - ranging from middle school classrooms to professional golf players and national level athletes. Travis also currently serves as the Director of First Year Experience, Faculty Advisor for the Cal Lutheran Swimming and Diving program and as Faculty Mentor to the Exercise Science Club. 

Education

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California

M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California

M.S.M.E. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington

B.Bm.E. in Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota

Publications

       LeBlanc, M., Peterson, T., McClave, S., & Hawkins, S. (2022). Angular Kinematics and Critical Power of Younger and Older Cyclists during the 3-Min All-Out Test. Journal of Science and Cycling, 11(1), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.28985/1322.jsc.03

Peterson, T. J., and McNitt-Gray, J. L., 2019, “Regulation of Linear and Angular Impulse during the Golf Swing with Modified Address Positions,” J. Appl. Biomech., 35, pp. 25-31.

Wilcox, R., Peterson, T. J., and McNitt-Gray, J. L., 2018, “Data Analyses When Sample Sizes Are Small: Modern Advances for Dealing With Outliers, Skewed Distributions, and Heteroscedasticity,” J. Appl. Biomech., 34(4), pp. 258–261.

Peterson, T. J., and McNitt-Gray, J. L., 2018, “Coordination of Lower Extremity Multi-Joint Control Strategies during the Golf Swing,” J. Biomech., 77(22), pp. 26–33.

Peterson, T. J., Wilcox, R. R., and McNitt-Gray, J. L., 2016, “Angular Impulse and Balance Regulation during the Golf Swing,” J. Appl. Biomech., 32(4), pp. 342–349.

McNitt-Gray, J. L., Sand, K., Ramos, C., Peterson, T. J., Held, L., and Brown, K., 2015, “Using Technology and Engineering to Facilitate Skill Acquisition and Improvements in Performance,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part P J. Sport. Eng. Technol., 229(2), pp. 103–115.

Grant Funding