The Department of Kinesiology at the Pennsylvania State University has a rich history of research and scholarly accomplishments and scientific training in a wide array of specializations that span the physical, life, behavioral, and social sciences and humanities. Some of the older research entities in the department, the Noll Laboratory (formerly known as the Laboratory for Human Performance Research) and the Biomechanics Laboratory, were both established in the mid 1960's and both have made abundant contributions to exercise physiology and human biomechanics. The Department also continues its tradition of research and scholarly excellence in the domains of motor control, movement neuroscience, exercise/sport psychology, athletic training, history and philosophy of sport, and pedagogy of physical activity. Our research faculty includes some the world's most renowned and respected scholars in their respective fields. They serve as editors of scholarly journals, on international and national advisory boards, as leaders of important professional organizations, and on scientific review panels for federal funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Professor Neil Sharkey serves as the Director of Kinesiology Research and manages the operational needs of the research enterprise for the Department. He and his colleagues are supported by 15 full-time staff members working in conjunction with post-doctoral scholars, graduate students, and undergraduate research interns. Approximately half of the 50 or more graduate students within the department are supported by research grants and fellowships garnered from external sources, primarily the National Institutes of Health.

The department boasts 14 separate research facilities, each composed of several individual laboratories, that together encompass over 50,000 square feet of dedicated research space in three separate buildings. Currently, twenty-five externally funded, large-scale research projects combine to total in excess of 3.1 million dollars of research expenditures annually.

Substantial interdisciplinary collaborations extend research projects across the University Park and Hershey Medical Center campuses. These collaborations incorporate the Departments of Biobehavioral Health, Bioengineering, Biology, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Nutritional Sciences, Psychology, the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, and the College of Medicine. Many faculty in Kinesiology also share joint appointments with these departments.

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