Student Research Spotlight - Scot Carpenter
Hometown: Opelika, Alabama
Major: Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering
College: Samuel Ginn College of Engineering
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Class year: 2020
Faculty mentor: Michael Zabala
Characterization of Thigh Soft Tissue Artifact During a Relaxed and Activated State
What are you researching?
I am researching how the jiggling of a person’s skin affects the accuracy of motion capture data, which is used in biomechanical analyses. Ultimately, I would like to find ways to minimize this error to have more accurate data.
How could the results benefit individuals, agencies or companies?
The results can allow those who collect motion capture data to have more accurate data in order to measure small changes in commonly measured anatomical variables. This would allow for progression of research in the field of biomechanics.
Tell us why you enjoy research.
Research can be extremely exhilarating or frustrating. Some days, you make a lot of progress. Other days, you take many steps backwards, but I enjoy research because the perseverance and discipline of continual hard work end in a result that can be helpful to others—which you can truly be proud of.
What advice would you give to other students considering doing a research project?
Find a field of research that interests you, and then find a problem in that field that you would like to answer. Read literature that others have done to answer the problem. At that point, you have set yourself up to confidently approach a research project.
Tell us about any hobbies or activities you enjoy.
I enjoy outdoor activities such as Frisbee, pickleball and sand volleyball, as well as hiking and camping. I also like to design and use 3D printing to make tools and equipment that are helpful around the house.
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