Academic Credentials
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Ohio Northern University, 2016
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, 2020
  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, 2022
Licenses & Certifications
  • Professional Engineer, Michigan, #6201314472
Professional Honors
  • 2019 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Honorable Mention
Professional Affiliations
  • American Society of Biomechanics (member)
  • International Society of Biomechanics (member)

Dr. Knodel's area of expertise is in the kinematics and kinetics of human motion, with an emphasis on gait and whole-body dynamics. He investigates how consumer products, wearables, and environmental conditions influence a person's biomechanical responses. He also identifies the kinematics of events to understand potential injury mechanisms, particularly in slip, trip, and fall incidents.

Dr. Knodel leverages skills in optical-based motion capture technology, instrumented force plates, inertial measurement units (IMUs), electromyography (EMG), and metabolic measurement systems to address a wide range of biomechanical questions and challenges for his clients. His work is focused on evaluating the effects of consumer products on key biomechanical measures and thereby assessing injury potential, validating the efficacy of wearable technologies in naturalistic environments, understanding potential injury mechanisms based on kinematic analyses of events, and determining whether those mechanisms can be causally related to specific pathologies.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Knodel was a graduate researcher in the Human Injury Research and Regenerative Technologies (HIRRT) Laboratory at Purdue University where he focused on the development and validation of a skeletal muscle force model derived from dimensional analysis. He designed, operated, and managed the experimental setting in which the model was validated using data collected from optical-based motion capture technology, EMG sensors, and an instrumented treadmill. He also worked on a unique segmentation program capable of extracting the 3D geometry of musculoskeletal tissues of the knee joint from MRI scans such that subject-specific anatomy could be implemented into higher fidelity musculoskeletal models.