Rate My Professor Robert Crowther

Associate Professor Robert Crowther serves as Deputy Head of School in the School of Science and Technology at the University of New England, where he holds senior academic leadership roles including Discipline Convenor, Course Coordinator, and Program Director. He earned his Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science (2000-2003), Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science with Honours (2004-2005), Doctor of Philosophy (2005-2008) focused on exercise rehabilitation in peripheral arterial disease, and Graduate Certificate of Education (Tertiary Teaching) (2012), all from James Cook University. As an Accredited Exercise Physiologist, his research specializations encompass biomechanics, motor control and learning, strength and conditioning, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, and clinical exercise physiology. His academic interests cover musculoskeletal assessment and prescription, injury risk (including ACL injuries in youth athletes), load monitoring, movement variability, and lower-limb function. These span clinical populations such as individuals with peripheral arterial disease and plantar diabetes-related foot ulcers, extending to high-performance sports like rugby league, basketball, baseball, and Olympic events, with emphasis on rehabilitation, performance science, and talent detection.

Crowther has secured more than $2.8 million in competitive and industry funding and authored over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles. Key publications include 'Association between upper trunk rotation kinematics, shoulder and elbow joint kinetics and pitching performance in Australian baseball pitchers' (Mine et al., 2025, Journal of Sports Sciences), 'A comparison between novice and elite cyclists movement stability during cycling' (Winter et al., 2025, Journal of Sports Sciences), 'Lower limb coordination variability in people with plantar diabetes related foot ulcers' (Crowther et al., 2025, Clinical Biomechanics), 'Relationship between upper trunk rotation kinematics and arm fatigue after repetitive pitching among baseball pitchers' (Mine et al., 2024, Sports Biomechanics), and 'Reliability of lower limb strength assessment in female team sport athletes' (Jenner et al., 2024, Physical Therapy in Sport). He supervises higher degree research candidates on topics including ACL injury risk, motor competence, heart rate variability, and rugby league tackling, while collaborating with professional sporting organizations on evidence-informed projects in performance enhancement and injury prevention. Crowther emphasizes evidence-informed curriculum design, industry partnerships, and mentoring for emerging researchers and exercise professionals.