Felix E. Zajac, Ph.D.
- Professor of Mechanical Engineering
- and Othopedic Surgery, Emeritus
- zajac@stanford.edu
- Durand Building, Room 231
Research Interests
Biomechancs and neural control of movement
Degrees
Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Stanford University
M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
B.E.E. (Electrical Engineering) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Honors and Awards
Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, for "advancing the understanding of how muscles coordinate body movement using computer simulations that replicate biomechanical observations and for mentoring graduate students/post-doctoral fellows to become future academicians.", 2002 IEEE Control Society (Bay Area Chapter)
Borelli Award, American Society of Biomechanics, for "preeminent contributions to the science of biomechanics.", 2001
Paul B. Magnuson Award, Dept. of Veterans Affairs, for "pioneering work on coalescing contemporary knowledge across several disciplines to foster development of new ideas that benefit persons with disabilities and for selfless dedication to building the careers of young scientists within the VA Health Care System.", 2000
Senior Research Career Scientist Award, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1999-2006
Low-Lands Biomechanics Award, World Biomechanics Foundation, for "achievements in biomechanics and his leading role in promoting biomechanics throughout the world.", 1997
Elected Founding Fellow, American Institute of Medical & Biological Engineering, 1993
O. Hugo Schuck Best Paper Award (w/ Gary Yamaguchi), American Automatic Control Council (1990), titled "Modeling FES actuation and control of multisegment limb movements." (selected from over 500 papers), 1991
VA Superior Performance Award, 1987-1997
NIH Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award, 1987-1995
Outstanding Achievement in Control Engineering for "Significant Contributions to the Understanding of Physiological Motor Function by the Use of Modern Optimal Control Techniques", 1983
Representative Publications
Zajac, F.E., Neptune, R.R., and Kautz, S.A. (2003) Biomechanics and muscle coordination of human walking: Part II: Lessons from dynamical simulations and clinical applications. Gait and Posture 17: 1-17.
Zajac, F.E., Neptune, R.R., and Kautz, S.A. (2002) Biomechanics and muscle coordination of human walking: Part I: Introduction to concepts, power transfer, dynamics, and simulations. Gait and Posture 16: 215-232.
Zajac, F.E. (1993) Muscle coordination of movement: a perspective. J. Biomechanics, 26, suppl 1: 109-124.
Zajac, F.E. (1989) Muscle and tendon: properties, models, scaling, and application to biomechanics and motor control. In Bourne, J.R. (ed.): CRC Critical Rev. in Biomed. Eng. Boca Raton: CRC Press , vol. 17 (#4), 359-411.
Zajac, F.E. and Gordon, M.E. (1989) Determining muscle's force and action in multi-articular movement. In: Pandolf, K. (ed.) Exerc. Sport Sci. Revs. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, vol. 17: 187-230.
Hobbies
Hiking, skiing, photography, reading, debating