Dr. Thomas Stoffregen, Kinesiology professor of human factors and ergonomics, gave a talk January 26 on board the M/V Explorer, steaming southeast off the South American coast en route to the mouth of the Amazon. Dr. Stoffregen is heading an international research team that has conducted the first-ever experimental research on how people alter their body movements as they adjust to life at sea. His topic, “The Science of Getting Your Sea Legs,” was presented to a general audience aboard the Explorer, home to the Semester at Sea program. Currently 570 undergraduates and 30 faculty are on the early legs of a 4-month, around-the-world voyage.
Dr. Stoffregen gave another talk January 30 on “Sea Legs Study: Results,” on the M/V Explorer near Santarem, Brazil. The data were collected January 19-27, and preliminary analyses revealed several novel effects that Dr. Stoffregen reported to the ship’s passengers in his presentation.