Tex-Mex, with a heaping side of athlete engineering, was on the menu when researchers from Deakin University visited Texas Christian University’s campus recently. 

Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, associate dean for research, and Ashim Debnath, associate head of school for research, were at TCU to talk collaboration on research as well as student experience. The first-time visitors to campus from Melbourne, Australia, experienced the best of Fort Worth and a reminder of why the international leader in sport and exercise science chose to partner with TCU and Mississippi State University to establish the Athlete Engineering Consortium. 

“Athlete engineering is a new way of thinking about how humans, technology and performance evolve together. And partnerships like this consortium are what make that future possible,” Ben Horan, head of Deakin’s School of Engineering, said. “TCU is such a strong partner because of its deep expertise in sport, human performance and athlete development — and its ability to connect research, education and elite practice within a highly applied sporting context.” 

Another key answer to “Why TCU?” is Reuben F. Burch V, TCU’s vice provost for research. 

Burch founded and launched the Athlete Engineering Institute while at MSU, advancing health and performance across the state through research, interdisciplinary collaboration and industry and government partnerships. Bringing that work to TCU is a natural extension of both his background and the university’s existing strengths. 

“One of the first things I noticed coming to TCU was how human-centered we are. It’s a real strength,” Burch said. “A human-performance approach is about improving how we train, work and recover across the entire community.” 

First-of-its-Kind Partnership 
In November, Burch joined Horan; Jim Weinstein, director of MSU’s Athlete Engineering Institute; and Brad Aisbett, head of Deakin’s School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, in Melbourne to sign the memorandum of understanding launching this first-of-its-kind international partnership. 

Since then, the collaboration has moved quickly — not only advancing joint research projects and proposals, but creating opportunities to: 

• Co-design student projects and research programs across institutions 

• Co-supervise higher-degree research students, including a proposed dual Ph.D. 

• Accelerate translation of athlete engineering research into applied settings 

“For Deakin, this alignment is particularly compelling. We have recently launched a double degree in Exercise and Sport Science and Mechanical Engineering, designed to train graduates who can work effectively at the intersection of sport and engineering,” Horan said. “The Athlete Engineering Consortium extends this vision globally — giving students, researchers and industry partners access to environments, expertise and perspectives that no single institution could provide alone.” 

Athlete engineering extends beyond traditional sport. It includes tactical athletes, industrial athletes and the competitors seen on fields, diamonds, pitches and courts across the globe. 

Major research initiatives already underway include markerless motion capture and movement analytics, injury-risk modeling and early warning signals and human performance across domains. 

“What’s possible is a true end-to-end ecosystem: research that produces tools, tools that produce outcomes and outcomes that inform better research,” Weinstein said. “TCU is an outstanding partner because it brings a unique combination of high-performance sport demands, strong applied research capability and a culture that supports rapid translation. 

“In practical terms, TCU is positioned to help us stress-test innovations in real environments — not just controlled lab settings.” 

Creating a Pipeline 
Combined with Deakin’s world-class capabilities in sport technology, analytics and applied research translation and MSU’s strengths in engineering, data systems and multi-domain human performance, the consortium becomes more than the sum of its parts; it creates a pipeline where ideas can be co-developed, validated and deployed — faster and with athletes of all kinds in mind.  

“What I love about the athlete engineering mindset is all of the ways it impacts the greater mission of the university,” Burch said. “Athlete engineering helps all of our students in human performance, not just the athletes. It creates research opportunities for our Horned Frog faculty and student researchers; it gives us avenues to help all types of athletes, like our industry and military partners, across Texas live better lives. To push to R1, we need to run like we’re angry with the ground. An athlete engineering mindset will help us remember to keep the main thing the main thing.”  

The emphasis on providing hands-on, in-lab experiences for undergraduate student researchers is one of the biggest takeaways from the visitors from Australia.  

“The work you do across disciplines is fascinating,” Fuller-Tyszkiewicz said. “And the fact you are connecting undergraduate students across disciplines, you are giving me ideas.”  

Said Debnath: “It’s an eye opener for me, getting undergraduates this involved in research.” 

-Jen Floyd Engel