Michael L. Madigan named Kevin P. Granata Faculty Fellow
Michael L. Madigan, associate professor of engineering science and mechanics in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, was recently named the Kevin P. Granata Faculty Fellow by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The Kevin P. Granata Fellowship was established in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics in memory and honor of the tenured professor who died during the tragic shooting on April 16, 2007. The fellowship recognizes teaching and research excellence. Recipients must be tenured members of the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics and hold the fellowship for a period of five years.
A member of the Virginia Tech community since 2001, Madigan was promoted to associate professor in 2007, and to professor in 2013. As director of the Kevin P. Granata Laboratory, he demonstrates how biomechanical investigators with an engineering background can provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of human locomotion and stability control.
His research focuses on musculoskeletal biomechanics with a focus on injury prevention. His research group has studied postural control, balance and fall prevention, focusing on both experimental and computational efforts and has led to the development of preventive measures such as exercise interventions that improve balance among adults, as well as those that mitigate the effects of neuromuscular fatigue and obesity on balance.
Falling in the elderly is the leading case of accidental death in this age group and lower back pain is a leading cause of worker’s compensation injuries.
In addition to his research pursuits, Madigan serves on the editorial board of Journal of Biomechanics and as secretary of the American Society of Biomechanics.
Madigan has advised a doctoral student to completion every year since 2007. Two of these students are in faculty positions, while a third is completing her postdoctoral training with plans to transition to a faculty position.
Over the past 10 years, Madigan has advised the research of more than 20 undergraduate students. He also is highly engaged with the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences.
In 2006, Madigan was a recipient of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has been on the Dean’s List for Excellence in Teaching for almost all the academic semesters that he has served at Virginia Tech
Madigan received his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Texas A&M University and a doctoral degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
