Rory Cooper has been added to the list of keynote speakers for the conference ©ICESM

Rory Cooper, winner of the 2013 Paralympic Scientific Award, has been announced by the International Paralympic Committee as the latest keynote speaker for the 2016 International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS).

The doctor at the University of Pittsburgh is scheduled to speak under the heading of “Technology in Paralympic Sport - Optimising Performance”, with the conference due to take place between August 31 and September 4 in Santos.

He was awarded the Paralympic Scientific Award for his work on creating and evaluating new sports technologies, to advance equipment for wheelchair racing and tennis, as well as hand-cycling and seated throwing events.

Cooper, who is also a founding director of the human engineering research laboratories of the United States’ department of veterans’ affairs, will see his talk complemented by Mike McNamee.

The professor of applied ethics at Swansea University will reflect upon the impact of technology of both Olympic and Paralympic sports.

Around 2,000 people are expected to attend the conference, scheduled to take place between the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The theme of the conference has been titled "Saying Yes to Diversity in Sport”, with discussions about science, education and medicine in sport due to be held.

The five-day conference is due to feature a wide range of keynote speakers
The five-day conference is due to feature a wide range of keynote speakers ©Facebook/ICSEMIS 2016

Among the other keynote speakers already announced are Canada’s Kathleen Martin Curtis and South Africa’s Anneliese Goslin, who will host talks labelled “Exercise is Medicine” and “Valuing and Devaluing Diversity in Sport: Why care?” respectively.

Ireland’s Mary O’Sullivan and China’s Nyit-Chin Keh will jointly speak on the “Current Challenges in Pedagogy in Physical Education”, while Germany’s Herbert Löllgen is set to discuss “Evidence Base Recommendations for Exercise in Health and Disease“.

Yannis Pitsiladis will host a talk on doping, while Brazil’s Linamara Rizzo Battistella, Pedro Hallal and Victor Matsudo have also been included on the list of keynote speakers.

The ICSEMIS was first held in Guangzhou in China, in 2008 prior to the Beijing Games and drew 1,500 participants from 40 countries to discuss the advancement of science and the practice of sport and human movement.

Four years later, the event was held in Glasgow, ahead of London 2012.

The deadline for abstract submissions ahead of the conference is February 29.

Further details are available at www.icsemis2016.org.