David Curtis BEng. MSc. MA.
Principal Research Fellow
- Academy of Sport and Physical Activity
- Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre
- Health Research Institute
Summary
David Curtis is a principal research fellow in the Sports Engineering Research Group, which is part of the Sport & Physical Activity Research Centre. Practice and research interests are with innovation programmes for sport and wellbeing, multi-stakeholder collaboration, remote monitoring use of outdoor spaces, and mechanics of swung implements. David has been responsible for developing and managing large collaborative projects such as EU ProFit Fieldlab, the regional sports cluster initiative SportsPulse, and AWRC-Westfield Health. He also teaches sport undergraduates on professional skills and enterprise.
About
David Curtis is a principal research fellow in the Sports Engineering Research Group, which is part of the Sport & Physical Activity Research Centre. Prior to joining SERG, David worked in the Aerospace and the Oil & Gas Industry. Over his 20 years in the group he has developed and managed large academia-industry collaborative projects such as the Sports SET Network, the regional sports cluster initiative SportsPulse, and the EU funded ProFit FieldLab project.
David has worked with Sheffield city partners on the strategic development of the sports and leisure business sector in the Sheffield city region - primarily through his lead of the SportsPulse project. The activity and networks developed through SportsPulse helped build foundations for Sheffield's Outdoor City Strategy and the Olympic Legacy Park.
He is currently managing research and innovation collaborations with Westfield Health, and the Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity on behalf of the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre at SHU. David has research interests in the dynamic performance of swung implements, focusing on cricket bats, and has conducted consultancy projects with Gunn & Moore, B3 Cricket, and Decathlon (FLX).
Teaching interests are in Developing Professional Skills and Enterprise & Innovation education. He also supervises undergraduate and master’s dissertation projects. He also has professional practice interests in the complexities of multi-stakeholder innovation projects.
Teaching
Academy of Sport and Physical Activity
College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences
Sport Sciences
- Sport & Exercise Technology BSc
- Sports Engineering MSc
- Developing Professional Skills
- Enterprise & Innovation
- Dissertation project supervision
Research
Research centre:
Centre for Sports Engineering Research (CSER)
Research theme group:
- CSER Design Engineering
Current research projects:
- Remote monitoring of outdoor sports pitch and play area usage - developing a low-cost solar powered camera system to collect data on facility usage, which support operators and funders on maintenance, and value of investment (Football Foundation, Basketball England, Timberplay)
- Horizon scanning and foresighting in workplace wellbeing and sports sectors (Westfield Health, SIP)
- Investigation and analysis of the wearable electronics use in the sport and fitness sector - to inform future areas of development and potential for investment. (Conductive Transfers)
- Measuring movement comparisons in sports brief waistbands during high intensity interval training (CXP)
Collaborators and sponsors:
- Decathlon (FLX)
- Football Foundation
- Basketball England
- Westfield Health
- Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity
- Gunn & Moore
- Sheffield City Council
Publications
Key Publications
Curtis, D., Heller, B., & Senior, T. (2021). Methods for estimating moment of inertia of cricket bats. Sports Engineering, 24, 11. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-021-00349-y
Fowler Davis, S., Barnett, D., Kelley, J., & Curtis, D. (2019). Potential for digital monitoring to enhance wellbeing at home for people with mild dementia and their family carers. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. http://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-190844
Curtis, D., Hurt, G., & Heller, B. (2014). The reliability of a tapping test as an indicator of cricket bat performance. Procedia Engineering, 72, 666-671. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.06.113
Foster, L., Heller, B., Goodwill, S., & Curtis, D. (2014). Visual tracking of a GPS target within a FieldLab. Procedia Engineering, 72 (72), 168-173. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.06.044
Breslin, G., Beattie, M., Curtis, D., Gielen, M., Murphy, M., & Wallace, E. (2014). Developing a European network of fieldlabs to stimulate innovation in physical activity, sport and play. In Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society Northern Ireland Branch, Castlereagh, Northern ireland, 3 April 2014 - 5 April 2014.
James, D., Curtis, D., Allen, T., & Rippin, T. (2012). The validity of a rigid body model of a cricket ball-bat impact. Procedia engineering, 34, 682-687. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2012.04.116
Journal articles
Curtis, D., Heller, B., & Senior, T. (2021). Methods for estimating moment of inertia of cricket bats. Sports Engineering, 24, 11. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-021-00349-y
Hart, J., Curtis, D., Hamilton, N.D.R., & Haake, S. (2004). Scanning large geometries for use in computational fluid dynamic analysis. .
Curtis, D., & Carre, M.J. (2004). Olympians look to physics. Physics World, 17 (8), 25-27. http://doi.org/10.1088/2058-7058/17/8/29
Conference papers
Foster, L., Heller, B., Williams, A., Dunn, M., Curtis, D., & Goodwill, S. (2016). Development of smart inner city recreational facilities to encourage active living. In Garcia, C.R., Caballero-Gil, P., Burmester, M., & Quesada-Arencibia, A. (Eds.) Ubiquitous computing and ambient intelligence : 10th International Conference, UCAmI 2016, San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Gran Canaria, Spain, November 29 – December 2, 2016, (pp. 458-468). Springer: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48799-1_50
Allen, T., Fauteux-Brault, O., James, D., & Curtis, D. (2014). Finite element model of a cricket ball impacting a bat. Procedia Engineering, 72, 521-526. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.06.090
Hart, J., Curtis, D., & Haake, S. (2006). Computational fluid dynamic analysis of a water ski jumper. In Moritz, E.F., & Haake, S. (Eds.) Engineering of sport 6, (pp. 401-406). Springer: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-46050-5_71
Curtis, D.T., & Haake, S. (2004). Academia-industry collaboration: a catalyst for sports product innovation in the UK. The engineering of sport 5, 2, 602-608.
Book chapters
Curtis, D., & Heller, B. (2010). Elastic modulus and related properties. In Bartlett, R., Gratton, C., & Rolf, C.G. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of International Sports Studies. Routledge
Curtis, D. (2006). Viscoelasticity. In Bartlett, R., Gratton, C., & Rolf, C. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of International Sports Studies. Routledge
Curtis, D. (2006). Viscosity. In Bartlett, R., Gratton, C., & Rolf, C. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of International Sports Studies. Routledge
McHutchon, M.A., Curtis, D., & Carre, M.J. (2004). Parametric design of field hockey sticks. In Hubbard, M., Mehta, R.D., & Pallis, J.M. (Eds.) The engineering of sport 5. (pp. 284-290). International sport engineering association
Other activities
Sheffield City Region representative on the EU ClusSport partnership
Postgraduate supervision
Sports Engineering project supervision MSc
Media
David Curtis is a principal research fellow in the Centre for Sports Engineering Research, which is part of the Academy of Sport & Physical Activity at SHU. Over his 18 years in the centre he has developed and managed large academia-industry collaborative projects such as the Sports SET Network, the regional sports cluster initiative SportsPulse, and the EU funded ProFit FieldLab project. In this area he is currently managing programme projects with Westfield Health, and the Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity. David has research interests in the dynamic performance of swung implements, focused mainly on cricket bats, and teaches on the BSc Sport & Exercise Technology course, and supervises MSc projects. He has professional practice interests in the complexities of multi-stakeholder innovation projects, and leads on contracts and IP, and information governance. He has been part of the CSER leadership team for over 8 years.
The Centre for Sports Engineering Research (CSER) is the world's largest academic group in sports engineering and an internationally renowned centre of excellence for research and knowledge transfer. The centre's work is based on four research themes; applied computing, biomechanics, design engineering, and skill acquisition. In each area, researchers develop fundamental knowledge and deliver applied solutions to enhance athletic performance, reduce injury and promote physical activity.
CSER works in partnership with many sport, health and commercial organisations. We are immensely proud of our work with Team GB Olympic, and Paralympic athletes, and we enjoy research partnerships with global organisations such as the International Tennis Federation, Decathlon, and Adidas.
Area of expertise:
- Sports engineering
- Innovation management
- Multi-stakeholder collaboration
- Dynamics of swung implements particularly cricket bats