UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1301

Research Mentor Information
---------------------------
Primary Research Mentor Name: Taylor Higgins
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns: She/her
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific?: Dr. 
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): th22u@fsu.edu
Position Title: Faculty
FSU College (if applicable): FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation: Mechanical Engineering
Headshot (optional): https://cre.fsu.edu/system/files/webform/urop_project_proposal_portal/21101/Headshot.jpg

Additional Research Mentor(s)
-----------------------------
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above): {Empty}
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns: {Empty}
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific?: {Empty}
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): {Empty}
Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable): {Empty}
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns: {Empty}
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific?: {Empty}
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): {Empty}

Overall Project Details
-----------------------
Title of the Project: Studying Human Motor Learning in Partnership with FSU Circus
Project Keywords: athletics, human movement, motor learning, biomechanics
Are you currently looking for research assistants?: Yes
Number of Research Assistants Needed : 2
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s):
Engineering and pre-med majors preferred.

Project Location:: FSU Circus
If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation?: Yes
Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s):: In-person
Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work?: 5-10
Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work?: Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Overall Research Project Description:
This project explores how humans acquire complex motor skills by partnering with performers in the FSU Circus. Circus athletes regularly learn new, physically demanding skills that require balance, coordination, and timing—making them an ideal group for studying the process of motor learning.

Our goal is to understand how these athletes progress from their very first attempt at a skill to a polished performance in front of an audience. To do this, we will collect longitudinal video data of practice sessions, capturing each step of skill acquisition. Students working on this project will attend practice sessions (approximately three times per week, 30 minutes each) to record video of an athlete learning a new skill, store this data securely, and then help analyze the movement patterns across the training period.
By studying how skilled athletes acquire new abilities, we aim to generate insights that can eventually be translated to rehabilitation contexts. For example, the same principles that enable circus performers to master new movements may also inform how patients recovering from neuromuscular injuries (e.g., stroke, spinal cord injury) can relearn everyday motor skills such as walking or reaching.


Research Tasks:
Attend and record practice sessions (~3 per week).
Manage and organize video data for long-term analysis.
Participate in coding and analyzing changes in human movement as learning progresses.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need::
Reliability and punctuality (must consistently attend scheduled practice sessions).
Attention to detail in recording and organizing video data.
Basic technical/computer skills (e.g., saving files, organizing data, working with external hard drives).
Strong communication and professionalism when interacting with circus performers and coaches.
Curiosity and willingness to learn about human movement and motor learning research.
(Optional/Preferred) Prior experience with video editing, coding data, or quantitative analysis of human movement (not required but beneficial).

Mentoring Philosophy:
As a mentor, I work best with students who are inquisitive, pro-active, and problem solvers. I do not like to micro-manage. I see my job as being a resource to my research students, helping to solve problems when stuck, providing overall vision, and occasionally giving nudges in the right direction. I see my students as the expert in their given project, and I expect students to go learn skills, find possible solutions, try many things that may or may not work, and ultimately to come to research meetings ready to teach me all the cool things they’ve learned, tried, and developed. I aim to creating a safe environment in which mentees feel that it is acceptable to fail and learn from their mistakes. I do expect mentees to take ownership of their work and have accountability for their effort in the project. Overall, I want to do fun engineering work that makes a difference in human lives, and I want my students to feel empowered to do difficult things and solve challenging problems.

Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable):: https://rthmlab.wixsite.com/taylorgambon
Please add any additional information here (if applicable)::
{Empty}


Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable?: No
Roundtable times and Zoom links:
{Empty}

UROP Program Elements
---------------------
Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication: Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation: Yes
Materials Grant: Yes
UROP Poster Presentation: Yes

{Empty}
Year: 2025
update url: https://cre.fsu.edu/urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?element_parents=elements/research_mentor_information/headshot_optional_&ajax_form=1&_wrapper_format=drupal_ajax&token=c-fPZJ7Qg8O_PdooHll3xY-deXyD_gWidQyB6Y-W2Mc