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Professor Brendan Burkett
BEng C.Qld., MEng Qld.UT, PhD Qld.UT, FIEAust.
Position: Acting Dean - Faculty of Science, Health and Education, Professor, Sport Science (Biomechanics), Faculty Regional Engagement Coordinator and
Director, CHASE (Centre for Healthy Activities, Sport and Exercise)
Office: T4.03
Tel: +61 7 5430 2888
Fax: +61 7 5459 4600
Email: bburkett@usc.edu.au
Teaching areas
- Biomechanics
- Sports Coaching
- Performance Enhancement
Research areas
- human health and performance
- sports biomechanics
- technology and software developments in human health and performance
Profile
Professor Brendan Burkett joined the University in 1998 following an international sporting career and as a professional engineer in Australia and overseas on the oil rigs in the North Sea. As a past international sports person Brendan was fortunate enough to represent Austalia for 13 years as a swimmer and was the Paralympic Champion, World Champion, World Record holder, Commonwealth Games and Australian multiple medallist. Brendan has been fortunate to lead the Australian team on several occasions, such as the Australian Team Captain for the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games, and as the Opening Ceremony flag bearer in Sydney 2000 – Australia’s most successful sporting team. The combination of engineering and human movement qualifications with sporting experience enables Brendan to understand human health and performance.
The impact of Brendan's research in human health is demonstrated with research grants and publications in this discipline. The impact in human performance is evident through his appointment as national sport science coordinator for the Australian Paralympic Swim team for the 2002 World Championships, the 2004 Paralympic Games, and the 2006 World Championships. In addition, Brendan was the Institution of Engineers, Australia, Professional Engineer of the Year in 2000. The combination of sporting and professional achievements has been recognised as Brendan is the recipient of several awards such as the Australia Day Sporting Award, the Order of Australia Medal (OAM), as an Ambassador for the Sydney Paralympic Games, and Australian Sports Medal recipient.
In 2007 Brendan was an invited scholar for the Erasmus Mundus Masters in Adapted Physical Activity, which is part of the European Masters in Physical Activity. In 2007 he was also inducted into the Swimming Queensland Hall of Fame, and in 2008 Brendan was part of the Prime Minister's 2020 Summit in the specific theme area of a developing a “long-term health strategy”.
Publications
Many of Professor Brendan Burkett's publications are available from the Coast Research Database.
Research grants
- Development and application of wearable micro technologies for the assessment of swimming performance and activity. ARC Linkage Grant $195,000. Industry partner: Queensland Academy of Sport (cash contribution $120,000). (James, D., Thiel, D., and Burkett, B. 2009).
- Centre of excellence for applied sport science research, senior research fellow, Queensland Academy of Sport. ($26,000. Burkett, B.2009)
- Injury screening measurement and monitoring in health services (physiotherapy). Commercialising emerging technology (COMET). $85,000. (Gabel, P., and Burkett, B. 2009)
- The Physiological and Biomechanical Profile of the Paralympic Hand Cyclist. 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. (Burkett B, Abel T, Vanlandewijck Y. 2008).
- The kinematic motion characteristics of Paralympic wheelchair rugby: To further understand the sport performance requirements and to provide additional evidence for the classification system. 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. (Burkett B, Barros R, Vanlandewijck Y. 2008).
- The relationship between intensity and technique in swimming, cycling and running: the effect on triathlon performance. Queensland Academy of Sport A$65,500 (Burkett B. Askew C, Sutter K. 2008).
- Injury Screening Measurement and Monitoring. AusIndustry R&D Start Program research grant of A$200,000 (2005-2007).
- Validation of an Inertial Sensor System for In-Field Motion Analysis. Grant of A$10,600, funded by National Elite Sports Council (NESC). (Lyttle A, Doyle M, Manning J, Buttfield A, Baker J, Campbell A, Burkett B. 2007).
- Erasmus Mundus travel grant as invited professor for European Masters in Physical Activity, A$8,500. (Burkett B. 2007).
- Performance enhancement of Australian Paralympic Swimmers, Australian Institute of Sport and Swimming Australia grant of A$90,000 for PhD research (2005 – 2008).
- Microtechnology for Human Health and Performance, Kirk Foundation Grant of A$90,000 for PhD research (2006 – 2009).
- Prospective screening to determine the risk of chronicity in whiplash patients presenting to a general medical practice. Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine research grant of A$20,000 (2005).
- Swimming technique and race analysis. Swimming Australia A$14,000 (2004).
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