June 9, 2016
Kinesiology grad student lands job as research scientist with Adidas
Graduate student Hendrik Enders, left, did his PhD in biomechanics at the Faculty of Kinesiology.
Sabine Seyffarth
Graduate student Hendrik Enders applied the same passion to his studies as he did to soccer, an approach that helped his team climb to second division in Calgaryās soccer league.
Team coach and manager Francisco Alaniz Uribe, assistant professor in the , describes Enders as someone who wonāt settle for a mediocre result.
āHe was always pushing for the best,ā says Uribe, adding that Enders put in the extra effort to quickly become one of the teamās top players. āAt the same time, he was a strong team member and motivated others to succeed."
From grad student to Adidas research scientist
That same drive has also paid off for Enders in his scholastic endeavours. He arrived at the from Germany in 2011 armed with a bachelor of science in sports engineering, knowing he wanted to be part of the world-renowned (HPL) in the .
Five years later, heās graduating with a PhD in biomechanics and has already joined Adidas back in Germany as a research scientist.
āItās very different to the university, but itās also super interesting since it focuses on real problems that need to be addressed,ā says Enders. āI would not have this job if I had not been part of the HPL research group.ā
Time at the human performance lab made impact on his career trajectory
Endersā supervisor Benno Nigg, a biomechanics professor and pioneer in peak athletic performance, founded the famous university lab 30 years ago.
āWhen I first met Hendrik, he said to me, āI would like to be challenged just onceā,ā says Nigg. āI said to him, āI can do thatā.ā
In addition to his studies, Enders was also a top player in a Calgary soccer league.
Henrik Enders
Enders completed a six-month internship before entering the PhD program and Nigg was impressed by his personal qualities and research skills.
āIt was unbelievable the skills he mastered in that time,ā Nigg says, noting that Enders is a master at explaining research in simple terms. āHeās probably the best Iāve ever seen."
On his part, Enders says he cannot remember a time when the learning curve was so steep, or when he was in an environment that put such an emphasis on the development of young people.
āIt had a big impact on who I am today as a person and on my career trajectory,ā he says. In typical fashion, he also found time to take on the role of president of the Kinesiology Graduate Student Association despite his heavy time commitments.
Seeking to understand body's complicated biological and biomechanical process
Endersā research focused on trying to understand the brainās role in how people initiate and control walking, or other motions, as part of a larger effort by his team to understand human movement. He describes it as one puzzle piece in the bigger picture of a complicated biological and biomechanical process, one that most people take for granted.
He has won seven awards for this work including a prestigious and a and . He's also received a from the
Now, with his career taking off, Enders says heās excited to be returning to Calgary for his convocation.
āThe PhD was such a big time commitment ā itās good to officially mark the end,ā he says.