Professor rowed through his undergraduate years
Paul van Donkelaar, professor of human physiology, studies the brain’s role in human movement. He uses functional magnetic resonance imaging to study such things as stroke, concussion and cerebral palsy.
Van Donkelaar, while a student, was a member of the University of British Columbia rowing team (1983-87) and of the Canadian National Team (1985-87). “Rowing is the ultimate team sport -- on the water you are completely anonymous, yet the boat does not function unless everyone is working together. Training typically occurs very early in the morning. Thus, I learned about the importance of teamwork and commitment.”
That experience transferred into his academic career. “I remember thinking how much it hurt to train and compete and how complex the movements were -- even though rowers generate a lot of force during each stroke, the subtle movements that are required to manipulate the oar require a lot of control. I didn’t realize it at the time, but those sorts of questions were the same ones that drove me to graduate school and a career investigating the neural control of movement.”
Van Donkelaar, whose research is done in the UO Eye-Hand Lab, holds a doctorate from the University of Calgary. As a member of his national team his tuition and books were covered, and he got a stipend. “This allowed me to continue to go to school without relying on my parents for support. More importantly, the lessons I learned on the water helped me to succeed later in other aspects of life. The pride of competing for your college and representing it at a national and international level was also a very important motivation. Those same emotions also contribute to life as an academic.”
On the Ducks’ Rose Bowl appearance:
“Representing your college at a championship level is important. Exposure for the UO on a national stage is incredibly important to the health and well being of not just the athletic department but the entire campus. For the players, coaches and support staff, it justifies all the hard work and planning leading up to that moment. This is an important lesson for many young athletes: You can’t just rely on talent alone to succeed -- and it’s a lesson that carries more weight when the stakes are high like they are with the Rose Bowl.
“The pride that competing in the Rose Bowl carries for everyone in the UO community is something that will last well beyond the end of the game. We should be grateful to the football team for that. Even though I competed in a sport that was followed by significantly fewer people, it was still very rewarding to have family, friends, and (sometimes) complete strangers on campus thank you for doing so well.”
