You’d be hard pressed to find a more passionate professor on Auburn University’s campus than Wendi Weimar.
A biomechanist by trade, Weimar has been the Director of Auburn’s Sport Biomechanics Laboratory for more than 25 years. The lab consults with professional and college athletes, Olympians, national teams, military members, veterinarians and the community. Weimar primarily focuses on the function of the lower extremity — everything from footwear choice and shoe tying to walking and running. She empowers her students to analyze movements of the body to help individuals put on an armor of protection, while also improving their performance.
“First of all, we do motion and gait movement analysis to help people be better movers,” Weimer said. “In our research, we do studies that help people perform better, and hopefully by performing better, we put them in a better position to avoid injuries.”
Weimar’s journey to the Plains is as fascinating as her gait dynamics research. The Vermont native got her undergraduate degree from Castleton State College.
“I had a double major, double minor,” said Weimar. “I was secondary education, physics and chemistry, and then I had a minor in math and a minor in theater. I went into theater because I thought that would help me be a better teacher.”
After graduating with her master’s in Adapted Physical Education from the University of Virginia, Weimar started teaching at New York’s Colonie High School. When it came time to consider getting her doctorate, it was Weimar’s parents who urged her to visit the loveliest village on the Plains.
“It was 1996, and we drove up College Street and saw all the beautiful brick buildings: quaint, quaint, quaint. It reminded me of a New England town,” recalled Weimar. “Then, when I met the professors in the School of Kinesiology, it was like putting on a jacket that just fits the length of the sleeves.”
While working to obtain her doctorate from Auburn, the native New Englander learned to embrace the Auburn spirit that is not afraid.
“The Auburn family permeates outside of campus,” said Weimar. “When I went home on my first Christmas break, I had on an Auburn shirt, and somebody yelled ‘War Eagle’ at me. I dropped back ready for a fight.”
“I was like, ‘You feeling froggy, Kermit? Just jump. Let's go.’ I wasn't up on the lingo then, but I am now. I've been all over the country, all over the world, and if I'm wearing Auburn gear, I hear it. It’s great.”
In addition to being a professor, Weimar is a renowned author and scientist. She is the co-author of a widely used textbook, Kinesiology: Scientific Basis of Human Motion. Her study on flip flops, footwear choice and shoe tying led to an interview on Good Morning America where an estimated 600 million people engaged in her research.
Using her infamous phrases like ‘slice o’ pie’ and ‘wicked cool,’ Weimar’s classes are a favorite among Auburn students.
“I like to create an environment where students feel comfortable and have access to opportunity,” Weimar said. “One of the biggest things I learned being a theater minor is that the play doesn't happen on the stage. If you’re on the stage, it’s your job to create the environment in the reach of the audience and it's their job to come and get it. You must bring it to them and make them excited to engage.”
Photo courtesy of Jared Long ‘19, College of Education, Auburn University
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