David A. Winter (PhD, PEng) is a distinguished professor emeritus of the University of Waterloo. He was a founding member of the Canadian Society for Biomechanics and its first Career Award winner. He was later awarded the
Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge (; 9 April 1830 – 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection. He adopted the first ...
Medal of the International Society of Biomechanics (ISB) and the Lifetime Achievement Award of The Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society. Before becoming an academic he served as an electrical officer with the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...
on HMCS ''Nootka'' from 1952 to 1958. He completed his service at the rank of
lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
. In December 2011, ISB named an award to encourage young people to stay involved in biomechanics research the "David Winter Young Investigator Award."
Winter is notable for introducing many important methods and concepts to the study of human locomotion and balance, such as automated television
motion capture
Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
, lowpass digital filtering of marker trajectories, measurement of instantaneous segmental energy, and the powers produced by joint moments of force, and the analysis of
electromyogram
Electromyography (EMG) is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. EMG is performed using an instrument called an electromyograph to produce a record called an electromyogram. An electromyog ...
Winter started his academic career in 1961 as an assistant professor in electrical engineering at the
Royal Military College Royal Military College may refer to:
;Australia
* Royal Military College, Duntroon, Campbell, Australian Capital Territory
;Canada
* Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario
* Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Saint-Jean, Quebec
;Mala ...
in
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...
. He then took up a similar position at the
Technical University of Nova Scotia
The Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS) was a Canadian university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
TUNS was officially founded as the Nova Scotia Technical College on 25 April 1907. On 1 April 1997 it was merged into Dalhousie University ...
where was eventually promoted to professor in 1969. In 1969, he became director of biomedical engineering at the Shriner's Hospital in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
with an associate professorship in surgery at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.David Winter Kinesiology, Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo
Textbooks
*David A. Winter. (2009). Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Movement, Fourth Edition. Published by John Wiley & Sons, New York. Wiley Interscience .
*David A. Winter and Aftab E. Patla. (1997). Signal Processing and Linear Systems for the Movement Sciences. Published by Waterloo Biomechanics.
*David A. Winter. (1995). A.B.C. (Anatomy, Biomechanics and Control) of Balance during Standing and Walking. David A. Winter. Published by Waterloo Biomechanics.
*David A. Winter. (1991). The Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Gait: Normal, Elderly and Pathological, Second Edition. David A. Winter. Published by Waterloo Biomechanics.Waterloo Biomechanics /ref>
Awards and honours
*1990, Career Investigators Award, Canadian Society for Biomechanics
*1995, Wartenweiler Memorial Lecture, 15th Congress International Society of Biomechanics
*1996, Geoffrey Dyson Lecturer, International Society of Biomechanics in Sports, Madeira, June 25
*2001, Lifetime Achievement Award, The Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society
*2001, Muybridge Medal, The International Society of Biomechanics
Additional awards
* 1966–1968, Canada Council Fellow in Engineering, Medicine & Science
* 1970–1974, President,
Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society
The Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society (CMBES) is a technical society representing the biomedical engineering community in Canada. CMBES is supported by its membership which consists of biomedical engineers, biomedical engineer ...
* 1973, Listed in American Men and Women of Science
* 1997, Fellow of Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers
* 2002, Fellow of Canadian Society for BiomechanicsFellows of the Society Canadian Society for Biomechanics
Personal life
Winter was born in Windsor, Ontario and moved soon thereafter to Hamilton. He was one of five boys growing up in Hamilton with his dad (Reginald Winter) and mom (Mary Winter, née Moore). After graduating from Westdale Secondary School and completing his BSc at RMC, he joined the Navy and moved to Halifax. It was here that he met his wife, Judith (Judy) Winter (née Wilson) and the two were married on July 26, 1958. Winter had three children: Merriam, Andrew, and Bruce Winter. Winter has 5 grandchildren (Adam, Samuel, and Joshua Fraser (mother Merriam), and Sarah and Olivia Winter (father Bruce)).