UD’s prowess in biomechanics, the study of using engineering principles to analyze human movements, has led to lifelong success for its alumni.

Game-changing careers

Article by Artika Casini Photos by Ashley Barnas Larrimore and Wenbo Fan and courtesy of Tim Niiler and Rob Hulbert May 14, 2025

Baseball season spurs biomechanics memories

Jim Richards was frustrated. For weeks, he had been attempting to render data of a cerebral palsy patient into a 3D model with no luck. Finally, he turned to University of Delaware graduate student Scott Coleman.

Richards gave the straggling Blue Hen a 500-page instruction manual and model of the cerebral palsy data. “I had no faith that anything would happen,” recalled the emeritus professor of kinesiology and applied physiology. The next day, Coleman walked into the lab with the model that had eluded Richards for weeks.

“How long did this take you?” the stunned professor asked.

“Five hours,” Coleman replied. “It would have been quicker, but I was watching four hockey games last night.”

For Jim Richards, distinguished professor emeritus of kinesiology and applied physiology, learning is a two-way street. “It’s so much fun to be around people that smart, that good and that enthusiastic,” he said of his students.

Today, Coleman and fellow alumni Tim Niiler and Rob Hulbert have taken their talent, education and love of sports to KinaTrax, a markerless motion capture company that delivers precise 3D joint location and bone segment orientation to enhance player performance on professional and collegiate sports teams. Last fall, the company was acquired by Sony, expanding its primary focus on Major League Baseball to other sports like football, soccer, tennis, hockey and cricket.

Coleman, whose UD degrees include a bachelor’s in physical education, master’s in both exercise science and biomechanics and movement science, as well as an MBA, serves as director of business development. Niiler, who earned his bachelor’s in physics, master’s in physical education and doctorate in biomechanics and movement science, is a senior software engineer. Hulbert, who earned a master’s in biomechanics and movement science, is director of product development.

Their success comes as no surprise to Richards, whose approach to teaching and research has always been to treat graduate students like colleagues. “Learning is a two-way street,” he said. “It’s so much fun to be around people that smart, that good and that enthusiastic.”

“Freaking brilliant” is how emeritus professor Jim Richards describes former doctoral student Tim Niiler, pictured here.

Richards remembers how Niiler (“freaking brilliant; the guy can learn anything and do anything”) once called him at midnight about an abstract math problem. “Tim said, ‘Doc, I’ve figured it out.” I said, ‘Great, but can we talk about it tomorrow?’”

His students’ passion for biomechanics, the study of using engineering principles to analyze human movements, now means assessing millions of data points — per game. This allows KinaTrax researchers to track players over time, helping to influence player development, injury risk predictions, scouting decisions and more.

Scott Coleman (left) and Tim Niiler at the 2025 Society for American Baseball Research conference.

“It all comes back to: What question are you trying to ask and answer?” Niiler said. “On the baseball side, you might be looking at two different bats and weights. Can you swing faster with one bat versus another? How well do you swing against one pitch type versus another? As a coach, you might want to know how much an athlete should train. Should we put this pitcher in the next game, or should they rest a bit?”

The technology is advanced, but it wasn’t built in a vacuum. The KinaTrax crew is part of a pioneering scientific community thousands of alumni strong.

“Every time we go to conferences or other companies, we meet Blue Hens from this program,” Hulbert said. “It’s a small community, and the presence of Delaware grads around the country is incredible.”

When they credit their mentor and professor Jim Richards for their success, the UD professor turns the praise around. He shares stories of his KinaTrax students, as well as people like Stephanie Russo, who earned her bachelors and doctorate in biomechanics and movement science and is now a pediatric hand and peripheral nerve surgeon at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Or Kristen Nicholson, who earned her master’s and doctorate in biomechanics and movement science and now works Richard’s “dream job” at Wake Forest University, where she has “established the gold standard” for analyzing pitching and hitting for the baseball and softball teams.

“These are brilliant, talented people,” said their former professor. “I’m just fortunate enough to get in their way.”

Biomechanics alumni, from left to right: Rob Hulbert, Steph Russo, Kristen Nicholson, Tyler Richardson, Michael Rowley, Garry Quinton and Jim Richards.