Mentoring

Summer 2026 RCEU: Karah Lawrence

Karah Lawrence, Kinesiology, completed a Research and Creative Experience for Undergraduates (RCEU) project in the HARPER Laboratory in Summer 2026: Promoting Stairway Safety for Older Adults: Processing and Analysis of Heel and Toe Clearance on Stair Step Edges with Environmental Changes. The project took first place for the College of Education, Sport and Human Sciences.

Karah Lawrence standing beside her RCEU research poster on stairway safety, with a first place ribbon pinned to it.
Four members of the Harper Lab stand together in front of the ACSM Southeast Chapter backdrop at the 2026 SEACSM Annual Meeting.

2026 SEACSM Annual Meeting

Emma Barnes stands beside the research poster Black and Yellow: Preference of High Contrast Markers for Stairway Safety, by Barnes, Hicks, Panuganti, Olusegun, Chen and Harper, at the 2026 SEACSM Annual Meeting.

2026 SEACSM Annual Meeting

Eleven KIN 452 students stand in a row in front of their research posters on easels after the Fall 2025 poster session.

Fall 2025 KIN452 Research in Exercise Science II

December 2025 kinesiology research presentations

A group of students and faculty gather for a photo in the auditorium at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, several holding certificates, at the November 2025 Society for Reliability Engineers event.

November 2025 Society for Reliability Engineers - U.S. Space & Rocket Center

Three people stand either side of the poster Sensor Fusion for Enhancing Motion Capture: Integrating Optical and Inertial Motion Capture Systems at HFES Aspire in Chicago, October 2025.

October 2025 HFES Aspire Chicago

Sai Panuganti stands beside his RCEU 2025 poster, Low-Cost, Multi-Camera Markerless Motion Capture System Using ZED Framework, mentored by Dr. Howard Chen.

September 2025 RCEU Presentation

September 2025 RCEU Presentation.

Dr. Harper is the recipient of the Council of Undergraduate Research Health Sciences Division Mid-Career Innovative Mentor Award for 2025. [April 2025]

Certificate for the 2025 Health Sciences Division Innovative Mentor Award from the Council on Undergraduate Research, presented to Sara Harper, University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Paid Summer Research Opportunities- Deadline to Apply 2/10/2025

RCEU Summer 2025 Undergraduate Research job opportunities - UAH RCEU 

What is RCEU? It's the Research and Creative Experience for Undergraduates

https://www.uah.edu/undergraduate-research/summer-community-of-scholars/rceu

Want to see what Summer 2025 opportunities are possible? Review the project descriptions here. The deadline to apply is Feb. 10th, 2025

https://www.uah.edu/undergraduate-research/summer-community-of-scholars/rceu/rceu-current-proposalsLinks to an external site.

Award graphic for the 2024 Summer Community of Scholars poster session winners, naming Parker Nelson, Kinesiology senior, for the project Fall Risk on Laboratory Instrumented Stairways, mentored by Dr. Sara Harper.

UAH Honor’s Day Charger Blue asked students did any faculty or staff have a particular impact on them this year [2024]
“Dr. Sara Harper, Kinesiology. She has been the most motivated professor I have ever had. She's put in so much effort in helping out all of the students doing research and I am very thankful for her!”

Parker Nelson stands beside his RCEU 2024 research poster, Fall Risk on Laboratory Instrumented Stairways, with a blue first place ribbon pinned to the board. Mentors: Dr. Sara Harper and Dr. Howard Chen.
A participant steps down the laboratory instrumented stairway while a student records data on a handheld device. Motion capture cameras are mounted on a rail above.
A student in the foreground reviews motion capture footage on a laptop while a researcher walks down a public stairway behind her.
Dr. Harper and a student crouch on either side of the instrumented laboratory staircase, adjusting the force plate step frame.

Spring 2024 UAH Women’s Lacrosse, Faculty Appreciation Night

2024 SEACSM Conference

2024 SEACSM Conference

Excellent photoshop work by Chayston Brown (KHS Department representing at the SWACSM Conference)

Chayston Brown presented his work on inter-step height variation

Bonny Lu presented her work on reaction times altered by an ACL tear

Liz Cafferty presented her work on older adult coactivation response in acute recovery

Aric Turner presented his work on the relationship of the Reacstick(R) inhibition accuracy and inhibitory control during balance recovery

Visual Contrast Enhancement for Fall Risk Reduction 

Every day, adults risk falling on the stairs, jeopardizing their health and wellbeing. The risk of these falls may be reduced, however, through simple changes in the environment. The purpose of our investigation is to assess the real-world effectiveness of such environmental changes through the addition of black vinyl stair edge highlighters on each step and vertical ‘black and white’ striping on the face of the bottom and top steps to reduce stumbles and the associated consequences of falls. In addition, we are also examining factors that affect the ability to recover from a stumble such as how close the nearest handrail is and whether distractions are present (e.g. mobile device use). While the independent effect of these factors on fall risk and severity may be obvious, how their interaction affects fall risk and severity is not.

Utah State Today - Filling the Gaps in Stair Safety

Students Mentored: Alex Braeger, master’s, Kenneth Harrison, master’s, Samantha Corbridge, UG, Christopher Long, UG, Shandon Poulsen, UG, Brevin Zollinger, UG, Emmalee Rolfe, UG, Travis Boman, UG, Amy Hale, UG, McKay Wilding, UG, Chayston Brown, UG.

Spring 2021 student presentations:

Travis Boman : https://symposium.foragerone.com/2021-usu-student-research-symposium/presentations/22158

*Samantha Corbridge and Christopher Long : https://symposium.foragerone.com/2021-usu-student-research-symposium/presentations/21440

*Students were awarded the 2021 Student Research Symposium Social Sciences and Education Oral Presentation Award. https://symposium.foragerone.com/2021-usu-student-research-symposium

Distraction’s influence on handrail use and successful stairway negotiation - accepted by the Journal of Safety Research (Spring 2022).


Relationship of eccentric strength and forward perturbation restabilization after foot contact

Parker Carroll, 2022 Student Research Symposium

Cody Overson, 2022 Student Research Symposium

Lower Limb Asymmetries Among Older Adults

Chayston Brown and Daxton Kennington, 2022 Student Research Symposium

Blocking a Balance Recovery Step

Chase Mitton and Charlie Baggett, 2022 Student Research Symposium

Charlie Baggett, Chase Mitton, and Keaton Reel at the 2022 Student Research Symposium

The connections between musculoskeletal injury and global reaction

Keaton Reel, 2022 Student Research Symposium

Leandra Ashworth, a master’s student in the Kinesiology department, recently was awarded Master’s Student Researcher of the Year for the College of Education. After receiving this award, Leandra, among other Master’s Student Researchers, was nominated for a Robins Award this past week.

Thesis: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports/1643/

Relationship of eccentric strength and forward perturbation restabilization

Students Mentored: Leandra Ashworth, master’s, Cody Overson, UG, Andrew Simonson, UG, Parker Carroll, UG, Tate Burch, UG.

Developing a method of assess response inhibition during a balance recovery step

Students Mentored: Molly Anderson Rowley, Jayme Warner

Molly Anderson Rowley and Jayme Warner (pictured) from the USU URCO-funded research.