Kevin Granata

Kevin P. Granata (December 29, 1961 – April 16, 2007) was a professor in multiple departments including the Departments of Engineering Science and Mechanics (in which he was tenured) and Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. Granata held an additional academic appointment as a professor in the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and was an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. A victim of the Virginia Tech massacre, he died protecting students after he shepherded them into his office in order to safeguard them, and after he went to investigate and intervene.^[1]

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Virginia Tech

Granata was among the leading U.S. researchers on biomechanics and movement dynamics in cerebral palsy, in his work with the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Laboratory at Virginia Tech.^[2] His recent research focused on muscle and reflex control and its relation to legged robotics, neuromuscular control of musculoskeletal movement, biomechanical stability and muscle dynamics, control of low-back pain, and computer simulation and clinical interpretation of pathologic walking and running.^[3] Professor Granata was recruited to the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics to continue his distinguished teaching and research. In particular, he developed innovative methods to quantify low back stability that are considered cutting edge by other leaders in the field. He served as mentor for numerous students and junior professors. When Dr. Granata was promoted to the rank of professor, one of these professors conveyed, "Countless times he has provided me with valuable guidance on research-related matters such as student advising, experimental issues, and manuscript preparation."^[1]

Dr. Darin Padua of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who earned his doctorate under Granata's tutelage at the University of Virginia, said that Granata particularly excelled at encouraging collaboration among experts in various fields, resulting in research that crossed many disciplines and areas of expertise.^[4]

While focusing primarily on research into cerebral palsy, biomimetric robotics and biomechanics, Granata helped develop mobility aids for the elderly such as the MARC Robotic Walker.^[5] The MARC Walker is named for the Medical Automation Research Center at Virginia Tech, where Granata had taught since January 10 2003. He presented a paper on the elderly walker at the 2003 International Conference on Robots and Systems in Las Vegas.^[6][7] Granata was an associate professor at Virginia Tech and in 2005, he achieved the honor of Virginia Tech College of Engineering Faculty Fellow. In 2006, he was awarded the Dean's Award for Excellence in Research for his work on lower back pain.^[8] In announcing the Dean's Award given to Granata, Virginia Tech stated he had "established a major research program, developing innovative methods to quantify low back stability that are considered cutting edge."^[9] He was additionally honored as the Virginia Tech Scholar of the Week for his published work concerning lower back pain.^[10] His friends and colleagues at Virginia Tech called him "a man with a sharp intellect who answered a call to serve the cause of scholarship and higher education".^[1]

Granata was a member of many professional societies and served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Biomechanics and Journal of Electromyography & Kinesiology. Granata was a co-chair of the American Society of Biomechanics' annual meeting in 2006, hosted at Virginia Tech.^[11]

At the time of his death, he was awaiting publication of four more articles in his name.^[4]

Education and previous positions

  A native of Toledo, Ohio,^[12] Granata attended St. Francis de Sales High School in Toledo, where he played football and served on the debate team for four years, graduating in 1980 with a 4.0 GPA.^[13][14] Granata was awarded a bachelor's degree in engineering physics & electrical engineering from The Ohio State University in 1984,^[15] a master's degree in physics from Purdue University in 1986, and a doctorate in biomechanics from Ohio State in 1993. He began his bachelor's degree in physics at John Carroll University in Cleveland, where he also played football,^[16] before transferring to Ohio State to finish the degree.^[14]

After earning his master's degree from Purdue, Granata worked for three years as a research scientist in the Applied Physics Lab at Johns Hopkins University. While there, he was contracted by the military and conducted research for the US Navy.^[17]

Granata stayed at Ohio State for four years as a research scientist in the Biodynamics Laboratory after earning his doctorate there in 1993.

In 1997, Granata arrived at the University of Virginia as an assistant professor in two departments, Orthopedics and Biomedical Engineering, where he published two journals^[18] and collaborated on a study with the Curry School of Education to determine why female athletes experience more knee injuries than their male counterparts.^[19] From 1997 to 2003, he also served as the Research Director of the Motion Analysis Laboratory at Virginia. In 2002, he was promoted to the position of associate professor for the orthopedics and biomedical engineering departments. While at Virginia, he worked at the university's Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center with children who had cerebral palsy.^[20]

He remained an adjunct professor at Virginia after leaving for Virginia Tech in 2003.

Personal life

Granata lived in Blacksburg with his wife, Linda Ankenman, whom he met at Purdue while they both participated in the Crew Club and married in May 1991. She is a research specialist in the Food Science Department at Virginia Tech, and they had three children, 13-year-old Alex, 12-year-old Eric and 11-year-old Ellen.^[16] He enjoyed working with the Boy Scouts and other activities with his children, and he was an avid athlete, participating in triathlons and biathlons for years.^[17] On the crew club at Purdue, he was on the JV rowing team that won a bronze medal at the Dad Vail Regatta in 1986.^[21] He loved to play golf and was a fan of Ohio State athletics.^[22] Granata was also a member of Triangle Fraternity, inducted at Ohio State.^[23]

Death

Granata was a victim of the Virginia Tech massacre on April 16, 2007. Upon hearing a commotion from his office on the third floor of Norris Hall, the professor brought 20 students from a nearby classroom into his office, where the door could be locked. He and another professor, Wally Grant, then went downstairs to investigate the situation. They were both shot by Seung-Hui Cho; Grant was wounded and survived, but Granata died from his injuries. He was 45 years old. None of the students locked in Granata's office was injured.^[24]

One of Granata's fellow Virginia Tech engineering professors, Dr. Liviu Librescu, was also killed in the shootings. The Engineering Science and Mechanics Department Head, Dr. Ishwar K. Puri, remembered Granata and Librescu in a statement as "world-class" researchers. Dr. Puri stated about Granata, “The use of his research by other scholars worldwide had put him on a trajectory to become a notable star in these fields.”^[25]

Memorial services were held in Blacksburg and a funeral mass at Christ the King Church in Toledo, Ohio, where his parents, Joseph and Mildred, and siblings live, was later held.

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