{"677984":{"#nid":"677984","#data":{"type":"news","title":"From BME to MLB: Dylan Pan\u00e9 Makes it to The Show","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBy Jerry Grillo\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDylan Pan\u00e9\u2019s rookie season in Major League Baseball was two victories shy of being absolutely perfect, but he isn\u2019t complaining. His ball club, the New York Mets, made it all the way to the National League Championship Series (NLCS), where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Pan\u00e9, who grew up about an hour away from the Mets\u2019 ballpark, Citi Field, this was the stuff that dreams are made of. Well, kind of.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve been a diehard Mets fan since day one \u2014 I grew up going to Shea Stadium and Citi Field and even have a family dog named Shea,\u0022 said Pan\u00e9, 23.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd now, this Georgia Tech graduate is a New York Met. He doesn\u0027t throw a blazing fastball or hit with power to the opposite field. But, as a biomechanics engineer for the Mets\u0027 \u0022performance technology\u0022 team, Pan\u00e9 helps other guys do those things. He earned his bachelor\u2019s degree in biomedical engineering in May 2023 and joined the Mets in January 2024, right on time for spring training and a storybook season.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Mets were mired in fourth place in early June but posted a 65-38 record the rest of the way, catching the Atlanta Braves on the last day of the season to qualify for the playoffs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt has been so fun and exciting to be a part of the Mets during this crazy season,\u201d Pan\u00e9 said shortly after the team\u2019s season-ending loss in the NLCS. \u201cThese past couple of weeks in particular\u0026nbsp;have had some of the most memorable Mets moments in a long time, so it\u2019s impossible to not be excited about that. The inner fan in me lives and dies with every pitch, but you have to balance that out with professionalism throughout the day.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENew Tools, Same Old Game\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBiomechanics engineers in baseball use motion-capture technology, wearable sensors, and high-speed cameras to analyze and optimize player movement and performance \u2014 particularly when players are pitching or hitting.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn his job with the Mets, Pan\u00e9 collects and analyzes data that helps build a better understanding of the physical forces working on a player\u2019s body.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollaborating closely with coaches, trainers, and players, Pan\u00e9 and his fellow biomechanics engineers turn that data into action, recommending adjustments to a pitcher\u2019s throwing mechanics to reduce stress or suggesting changes in a batter\u2019s stance for more power. The goal is to improve performance while minimizing injury risks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis high-tech approach isn\u2019t limited to the big leagues, either.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u201cMy time at Georgia Tech springboarded me in a couple different ways into the career that I have today,\u201d Pan\u00e9 said. \u201cThe main reason was my work in the Georgia Tech Pitching Lab for the baseball team.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring his junior year, Pan\u00e9 took a class called Intro to Sports Science where he met \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/mindy-millard-stafford\u0022\u003EMindy Millard-Stafford\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E. Millard-Stafford connected him with the lab.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor a kid hellbent on a career in baseball, the fact that such a lab existed was great news.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was able to volunteer in the pitching lab and teach myself all the different technologies that were a part of baseball biomechanics,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the fall of my senior year, the team hired me to test the pitchers and report on them to the pitching coach, which gave me my first real experience working in baseball.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPan\u00e9 also worked as a teaching assistant for lecturer J\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/James-Blumling\u0022\u003Eay Blumling\u003C\/a\u003E in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/\u0022\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, gaining lots of experience with biotech hardware \u2014 and troubleshooting that hardware.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s a skill that is extremely helpful in the job I have today,\u201d Pan\u00e9 said. \u201cAlong with my pitching lab work, my education and experiences as a whole at Georgia Tech taught me how to think critically and look at problems through different lenses.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJacket Footsteps\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPan\u00e9 grew up in a family of engineers and educators. Both of his parents are high school science teachers; his grandfather and uncle studied engineering at Georgia Tech. And all of them love the Mets. Well, maybe not his mother, who is from Philadelphia, home of the hated Phillies. (\u201cShe\u2019s coming around now, I think,\u201d Pan\u00e9 said.)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGrowing up, his favorite baseball player was Mets third baseman David Wright, although Pan\u00e9 was probably a little more like pitching ace Jacob deGrom. Because Pan\u00e9 was a pitcher, and he had this very specific idea since he was a little kid. He was going to a small Division III college, where he could play baseball and study engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI always wanted to be some kind of engineer but didn\u2019t know what,\u201d he said. \u201cI loved everything about math and science, so it was just a matter of deciding what kind engineering. I stumbled on biomechanics.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe summer before his junior year of high school, Pan\u00e9 blew out his elbow at a college showcase. His college baseball fantasy ended in an instant. He was devastated. Doctors said he\u2019d torn his ulnar collateral ligament but not enough to get surgery. They suggested physical therapy and plasma injections. He tried that, but the elbow still hurt.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat put me in the mindset of, \u2018If they aren\u2019t going to help me, I\u2019m going to do it myself,\u2019\u201d Pan\u00e9 said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith the other half of his dream still viable \u2014 studying engineering \u2014 Pan\u00e9 started researching engineering disciplines that would help him address the elbow problem and satisfy his career interests: \u201cThat was biomedical engineering, and Georgia Tech became the dream school, due to its great BME program.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe\u2019d never wanted to follow in his family\u2019s Yellow Jacket footsteps, but Pan\u00e9 made it work in Atlanta. He even got to play ball \u2014 four years of club baseball while at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI took every biomechanics class I could and did a physiology minor for the sole purpose of taking sports science and kinesiology,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve become more practical and know that I won\u2019t fix every elbow or prevent every injury. But the experience introduced me to the world of baseball biomechanics, which has impacted my entire life and career. And I got to play baseball in college.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow he has big league experience and achieved a childhood dream \u2014 every day, he gets to walk into Citi Field to make a difference for the baseball club that sparked his love the sport.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo, he doesn\u2019t want to think too far ahead about what\u2019s next. Though he has some ideas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019d\u0026nbsp;love\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;continue\u0026nbsp;working\u0026nbsp;for\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;Mets\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;see\u0026nbsp;how\u0026nbsp;far\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;takes me in the baseball world,\u201d Pan\u00e9 said. \u201cWhen all is said and done in my baseball career, I want to shift to teaching. Seeing the impacts my parents and grandparents had on their students left a lasting impression\u0026nbsp;on\u0026nbsp;me.\u0026nbsp;Whether there is an opportunity to merge my love of baseball and teaching is yet to be seen, but one day I would like to try that.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech grad reflects on his rookie season as a biomechanics engineer with the New York Mets"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech graduate Dylan Pan\u00e9 fulfilled his dream of working in baseball by joining the New York Mets as a biomechanical engineer. Pan\u00e9 uses advanced technology to optimize player performance and reduce injuries, making significant contributions to the team.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech grad Dylan Pan\u00e9 reflects on his rookie season as a biomechanics engineer with the New York Mets"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2024-10-30 13:32:04","changed_gmt":"2024-11-01 15:20:33","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-10-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-10-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"675464":{"id":"675464","type":"image","title":"Dylan Pan\u00e9 at GT","body":"\u003Cp\u003EDylan Pan\u00e9 studied biomechanics at Georgia Tech while earning his degree in biomedical engineering, then took his talents to the New York Mets, fulfilling a lifelong dream to work in baseball.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1730294563","gmt_created":"2024-10-30 13:22:43","changed":"1730342116","gmt_changed":"2024-10-31 02:35:16","alt":"Dylan Pan\u00e9 at Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"259091","name":"Screen Shot 2024-10-30 at 8.12.35 AM.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/10\/30\/Screen%20Shot%202024-10-30%20at%208.12.35%20AM.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/10\/30\/Screen%20Shot%202024-10-30%20at%208.12.35%20AM.png","mime":"image\/png","size":8424354,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/10\/30\/Screen%20Shot%202024-10-30%20at%208.12.35%20AM.png?itok=suy1ghpG"}},"675465":{"id":"675465","type":"image","title":"Dylan with Mets","body":"\u003Cp\u003EHome team colors: Dylan Pan\u00e9 grew up an hour away from the Mets ballpark, Citi Field, dreaming big league dreams.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1730294764","gmt_created":"2024-10-30 13:26:04","changed":"1730294825","gmt_changed":"2024-10-30 13:27:05","alt":"Dylan with the Mets","file":{"fid":"259092","name":"Dylan Mets.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/10\/30\/Dylan%20Mets.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/10\/30\/Dylan%20Mets.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5193614,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/10\/30\/Dylan%20Mets.jpg?itok=-neO6QjG"}}},"media_ids":["675464","675465"],"groups":[{"id":"65448","name":"Bioengineering Graduate Program"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"8963","name":"biomechanics"},{"id":"173171","name":"Competitive Sports"},{"id":"2073","name":"physiology"},{"id":"169896","name":"sports medicine"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"},{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}