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Sports engineers from around the world will bring a scientific perspective to some of our favorite pastimes Sept. 13 to 16 at the Fifth International Conference on Engineering of Sport, held at the University of California, Davis.

Sports pose some interesting fundamental problems, such as the aerodynamics of baseballs, biomechanics of the human skeleton or the slipperiness of skis. Advances in materials and technology are also bringing changes to many sports that affect how they are played.

Topics covered at the conference will include equipment design, using science to improve sports strategy, new materials, biomechanics, sporting injuries, aerodynamics and robotics. Sports under discussion include golf, tennis, fishing, soccer, cycling, baseball, gymnastics and winter sports.

Keynote speakers include: Art Chou, vice president of research, development and engineering for Rawling Sports and author of "Golf the Scientific Way," on the business of golf technology; Samuel Colbeck, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, on friction with snow and ice; and Professor Alexander Smits, Princeton University, on the aerodynamics of golf balls.

The meeting is sponsored by the International Sports Engineering Association (ISEA) and the Bioengineering Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). It will provide an opportunity to witness firsthand how engineering and technology will affect the next generation of sporting goods and athletes.