Originally from Australia and having formerly taught at the University of Southern Australia, Grant Tomkinson took a position at UND this summer as an associate professor in the Kinesiology and Public Health Department.

Tomkinson is an international health and fitness scholar, and has spent the last two decades researching the health benefits of exercise and children’s weight changes.

Tomkinson was a first-time visitor to Grand Forks when he came in august to begin his work, and said his research at UND will focus on the improvement of health among children in the area.

His research started in the mid ’90s around the time that he and his wife were expecting their first child. The birth of his son was something that sparked his interest on the topic of exercise and healthy living.

“My wife and I had our first child while the Sydney Olympics were going on in 2000 and after he was born I began to wonder how I could give my son the healthiest start to his life.” Tomkinson said.

Tomkinson’s position at UND entails three parts: teaching, research and service. He currently reaches classes in areas such as prescriptions, health and exercise benefits and statistics, and his research mainly focuses on health and exercise science.

His goals within the service aspect are to improve the community’s understanding of Kinesiology and the benefits of exercise.

Weight changes and health benefits among children is not the only part of his research, however, as he has also spent some time researching men and women in the military. Specifically, their size and physical fitness.

“Every few years my focus seems to change, so it’s difficult for me to know where my research will go long-term”, Tomkinson said, “however I do plan on continuing it for atleast the next 5 years.”

Dr. Tomkinson is also the Chairman of Active Healthy Kids Australia and is involved with Active Healthy Kids Global. He believes his research will continue to strive here at UND as it has for the last 20 years and is excited for what the future holds.

Hannah Amundson is a features writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected]