Jan Prins, Ph.D.
Born in Sri Lanka, Jan Prins has been on the faculty in the Department of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences, at the University of Hawai‘i Mānoa, since 1978. He is also the founder and director of the Aquatic Research Laboratory, located at Aquatic Complex on the Manoa Campus.
A former swimming coach for the Olympics, Paralympics, and the Men’s Swim Team at U.H., he has also worked with the United States Armed Forces Wounded Warrior Program for a number of years.
For the past 14 years, Jan Prins has been involved with unique swimming research using a system of multiple, high-speed digital cameras, to examine the stroke mechanics of elite swimmers, including Olympic and World champions, and former world record holders. He continues to present his research at a number of International Biomechanics Conferences and Swimming Coaches’ Clinics. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Swimming Research, a publication sponsored by the American Swimming Coaches’ Association.
From 1988 to 2008, he and his wife, owned and operated an aquatic physical therapy clinic here in Honolulu. At the time of its launch, Prins Aquatherapy was one of the first clinics in the U.S. specializing in aquatic physical therapy and research. Over the 20-year period, the clinic treated over 7000 patients, who were referred for a wide range of clinical conditions, and came not only from the State of Hawai‘i, but also from the mainland and foreign countries.
