Three years ago, 22-year-old UC Davis visiting researcher Stéphane Laporte's national record-setting javelin throw earned him a berth on France's Olympic team. During the past year, the scholar-athlete has been living in Davis and concentrating on the science of javelin flight. Working with UC Davis engineering professor Mont Hubbard's javelin training feedback system, Laporte has been applying the advanced technology to his personal training as well. The camera-computer system -- based on high-speed video filming -- provides immediate quantitative feedback to athletes in the field, which allows them to adjust the angle and speed of javelin releases. He will be training with the device weekly until he leaves for France in late May to try to qualify for the French world championship team. Laporte's analytical studies focus on how the vibrations of a javelin in flight -- about 25 oscillations per second -- affect its range and how fast the vibrations die out. Laporte's work at UC Davis allows him to graduate this year from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées in Lyon, the engineering school that co-sponsored his visit.