J. Maxwell Donelan

8.2k total citations · 3 hit papers
69 papers, 5.8k citations indexed

About

J. Maxwell Donelan is a scholar working on Biomedical Engineering, Cognitive Neuroscience and Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation. According to data from OpenAlex, J. Maxwell Donelan has authored 69 papers receiving a total of 5.8k indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 58 papers in Biomedical Engineering, 20 papers in Cognitive Neuroscience and 20 papers in Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation. Recurrent topics in J. Maxwell Donelan's work include Muscle activation and electromyography studies (37 papers), Robotic Locomotion and Control (24 papers) and Motor Control and Adaptation (20 papers). J. Maxwell Donelan is often cited by papers focused on Muscle activation and electromyography studies (37 papers), Robotic Locomotion and Control (24 papers) and Motor Control and Adaptation (20 papers). J. Maxwell Donelan collaborates with scholars based in Canada, United States and United Kingdom. J. Maxwell Donelan's co-authors include Arthur D. Kuo, Rodger Kram, V. Naing, Jessica C. Selinger, Andy Ruina, Douglas J. Weber, Shawn M. O’Connor, K. G. Pearson, Qizhou Li and J. A. Hoffer and has published in prestigious journals such as Nature, Science and PLoS ONE.

In The Last Decade

J. Maxwell Donelan

67 papers receiving 5.6k citations

Hit Papers

Biomechanical Energy Harvesting: Generating Electricity D... 2002 2026 2010 2018 2008 2002 2005 100 200 300 400 500
What are hit papers?

Hit papers significantly outperform the citation benchmark for their cohort. A paper qualifies if it has ≥500 total citations, achieves ≥1.5× the top-1% citation threshold for papers in the same subfield and year (this is the minimum needed to enter the top 1%, not the average within it), or reaches the top citation threshold in at least one of its specific research topics.

  1. Biomechanical Energy Harvesting: Generating Electricity During Walking with Minimal User Effort
    2008 590 citations J. Maxwell Donelan, V. Naing et al. profile →
  2. Mechanical work for step-to-step transitions is a major determinant of the metabolic cost of human walking
    2002 546 citations J. Maxwell Donelan et al. Journal of Experimental Biology profile →
  3. Energetic Consequences of Walking Like an Inverted Pendulum: Step-to-Step Transitions
    2005 532 citations J. Maxwell Donelan et al. profile →

Peers

J. Maxwell Donelan
Hugh Herr United States
Arthur D. Kuo United States
Aurelio Cappozzo Italy
F.C.T. van der Helm Netherlands
Rodger Kram United States
At L. Hof Netherlands
Ugo Della Croce Italy
Herman van der Kooij Netherlands
J. Mizrahi Israel
Robert W. Mann United States
Hugh Herr United States
J. Maxwell Donelan
Citations per year, relative to J. Maxwell Donelan J. Maxwell Donelan (= 1×) peers Hugh Herr

Countries citing papers authored by J. Maxwell Donelan

Since Specialization
Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of J. Maxwell Donelan's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by J. Maxwell Donelan with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites J. Maxwell Donelan more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by J. Maxwell Donelan

Since Specialization
Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by J. Maxwell Donelan. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by J. Maxwell Donelan. The network helps show where J. Maxwell Donelan may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of J. Maxwell Donelan

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of J. Maxwell Donelan. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of J. Maxwell Donelan based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with J. Maxwell Donelan. J. Maxwell Donelan is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

20 of 20 papers shown
1.
Kudzia, Pawel, James M. Wakeling, Stephen N. Robinovitch, & J. Maxwell Donelan. (2025). Neuromuscular fatigue reduces force responsiveness when controlling leg external forces. Physiological Reports. 13(16). e70498–e70498. 1 indexed citations
2.
Burden, Samuel A., Thomas Libby, Kaushik Jayaram, Simon Sponberg, & J. Maxwell Donelan. (2024). Why animals can outrun robots. Science Robotics. 9(89). eadi9754–eadi9754. 20 indexed citations
3.
Bajić, Ivan V., et al.. (2024). Comparing the advantages and disadvantages of physics-based and neural network-based modelling for predicting cycling power. Journal of Biomechanics. 169. 112121–112121. 2 indexed citations
4.
Slade, Patrick, Christopher G. Atkeson, J. Maxwell Donelan, et al.. (2024). On human-in-the-loop optimization of human–robot interaction. Nature. 633(8031). 779–788. 32 indexed citations
5.
Steele, Katherine M., et al.. (2023). Causal modelling demonstrates metabolic power is largely affected by gait kinematics and motor control in children with cerebral palsy. PLoS ONE. 18(5). e0285667–e0285667. 4 indexed citations
6.
Simha, Surabhi N., et al.. (2022). The split-belt rimless wheel. The International Journal of Robotics Research. 41(11-12). 1043–1076. 4 indexed citations
7.
Poggensee, Katherine L., Natalia Sánchez, Surabhi N. Simha, et al.. (2022). General variability leads to specific adaptation toward optimal movement policies. Current Biology. 32(10). 2222–2232.e5. 29 indexed citations
8.
Kudzia, Pawel, et al.. (2022). Characterizing the performance of human leg external force control. Scientific Reports. 12(1). 4935–4935. 2 indexed citations
9.
Simha, Surabhi N., et al.. (2021). Increasing the gradient of energetic cost does not initiate adaptation in human walking. Journal of Neurophysiology. 126(2). 440–450. 5 indexed citations
10.
Carter, James, et al.. (2021). A remote laboratory course on experimental human physiology using wearable technology. AJP Advances in Physiology Education. 46(1). 117–124. 3 indexed citations
11.
Donelan, J. Maxwell, et al.. (2021). Energy optimization during walking involves implicit processing. Journal of Experimental Biology. 224(17). 5 indexed citations
12.
Sánchez, Natalia, Surabhi N. Simha, J. Maxwell Donelan, & James M. Finley. (2020). Using asymmetry to your advantage: learning to acquire and accept external assistance during prolonged split-belt walking. Journal of Neurophysiology. 125(2). 344–357. 37 indexed citations
13.
Donelan, J. Maxwell, et al.. (2020). Scaling of inertial delays in terrestrial mammals. PLoS ONE. 15(2). e0217188–e0217188. 10 indexed citations
14.
Sánchez, Natalia, Surabhi N. Simha, J. Maxwell Donelan, & James M. Finley. (2019). Taking advantage of external mechanical work to reduce metabolic cost: the mechanics and energetics of split‐belt treadmill walking. The Journal of Physiology. 597(15). 4053–4068. 52 indexed citations
15.
More, Heather L. & J. Maxwell Donelan. (2018). Scaling of sensorimotor delays in terrestrial mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences. 285(1885). 20180613–20180613. 60 indexed citations
16.
Selinger, Jessica C., Shawn M. O’Connor, Jeremy D. Wong, & J. Maxwell Donelan. (2015). Humans Can Continuously Optimize Energetic Cost during Walking. Current Biology. 25(18). 2452–2456. 247 indexed citations
17.
More, Heather L., John R. Hutchinson, David F. Collins, et al.. (2014). Scaling of sensorimotor control in terrestrial mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences. 281(1793). 3563–8. 46 indexed citations
18.
Young, Ming‐Lon, et al.. (2010). Walking speed estimation using a shank-mounted inertial measurement unit. Journal of Biomechanics. 43(8). 1640–1643. 119 indexed citations
19.
Li, Qingguo, V. Naing, & J. Maxwell Donelan. (2009). Development of a biomechanical energy harvester. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. 6(1). 22–22. 97 indexed citations
20.
Donelan, J. Maxwell, David A. McVea, & K. G. Pearson. (2008). Force Regulation of Ankle Extensor Muscle Activity in Freely Walking Cats. Journal of Neurophysiology. 101(1). 360–371. 49 indexed citations

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

Explore authors with similar magnitude of impact

Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Hugh Herr Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Arthur D. Kuo Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Aurelio Cappozzo Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by F.C.T. van der Helm Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Rodger Kram Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by At L. Hof Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Ugo Della Croce Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Herman van der Kooij Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by J. Mizrahi Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Robert W. Mann
Rankless by CCL
2026