Departments of Kinesiology and Public Health

Education

• Ph.D. in Kinesiology (Biomechanics), The Pennsylvania State University, 2014

• M.S. in Kinesiology (Biomechanics), The Pennsylvania State University, 2008

• B.Soc.Sci. in Sports Psychology, The University of Pretoria (South Africa), 2004

• B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering, The University of Pretoria (South Africa), 1998

Current Teaching

• KIN 3550 – Introduction to Biomechanics
• KIN 5591 – Biomechanical Laboratory Assessment

Professional Affiliations / Organizations

• American Society of Biomechanics

Laboratory Affiliation

• Measuring Motion (Director)

Research Interests

• Novel motion analysis techniques to assess movement outside the traditional laboratory

Selected Publications

• Fiedler, MJ, Triplett, NT, Hamilton, KC, Needle, AR, van Werkhoven, H. (2024). The effect of different weight plate widths (bumper versus standard) on the biomechanics of the bench press. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 38(4), e143-e149.
• Hawley, VS, Gurchiek, RD, van Werkhoven, H. (2022). Can foot anthropometry predict vertical jump performance? Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 36(7), 1860-1865.
• Farina, KA, Needle AR, van Werkhoven, H. (2021). Continuous tracking of foot strike pattern during a maximal 800-meter run. Sensors, 21(17), 5782.
• van Werkhoven, H, Farina, KA, Langley, MH. (2019). Using a soft conformable foot sensor to measure changes in foot strike angle during running. Sports, 7, 184.
• Gurchiek, RD, McGinnis, RS, Needle AR, McBride, JM, van Werkhoven, H. (2017) The use of a single inertial sensor to estimate 3-dimensional ground reaction force during accelerative running tasks. Journal of Biomechanics, 61, 263-268.