Category: Presentation

Fredi Mino Awarded IEEE RAS BioRobotics Travel Award

Congratulations to Fredi Mino on receiving a $1,500 travel award to the IEEE RAS BioRobotics Conference! This is a highly competitive award given to top students presenting top-tier papers at the conference. Fredi will present his recent paper showing that noninvasive stimulation at the wrist can restore haptic feedback on the hand for individuals with sensory loss due to stroke. Even better, that restored sense of touch provides lasting reductions in spasticity that persist after the stimulation stops. Way to go, Fredi!

Reflecting on the Utah Neurotech Showcase | February 2026

What an incredible evening. Utah NeuroRobotics Lab had the opportunity to participate in the University of Utah’s Neurotech Showcase — a night dedicated to bringing together the brightest minds in neurotechnology: researchers, industry leaders, investors, and policymakers, all under one roof.

We got to show the world what we’ve been building. Check out the recap below.

Utah NeuroRobotics Lab at STEM: Day on the Hill

Members of the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab recently attended STEM: Day on the Hill at the Utah State Capitol — an annual event bringing together industry leaders, researchers, educators, and government officials to celebrate and advocate for STEM education in Utah. It was a great opportunity to connect with the broader Utah STEM community and showcase the innovative work happening right here in our lab.

Learn more about the event here: https://stem.utah.gov/stem-day-on-the-hill/

BioHive Features BIOS–U of U Collaboration on Bionic Sensation

BioHive recently highlighted Jacob A. George, Chief Scientist at Biologic Input Output Systems (BIOS), discussing how their Universal Neural Interface is helping people with limb loss regain both movement and real, emotional sensation—often for the first time in decades. In a recent LinkedIn post featuring a video interview, BioHive showcases how BIOS is working with the University of Utah and the NeuroRobotics Lab to engineer advanced prosthetic limbs that reconnect patients with the world around them.

🔬 Neurorobotics Lab Students Present at CNI Symposium!

We’re proud to share that several Neurorobotics Lab students presented their research at this year’s Undergraduate Research Symposium, held at the University of Utah Alumni House. Representing the Center for Neural Interfaces (CNI), our students delivered an impressive lineup of posters, covering topics from stroke rehabilitation to advanced electrical stimulation and sensory feedback systems.

🎓 This year’s presenters included:
Lily Nygard, Christie (CJ) Knowles, Shriya Nedumaran, Hana Habib, Emmanuel Attah, Jerry Zheng, Lilith Wright, Harsha Pillarisetti, and Hunter Taggart.

Their work highlights the innovative, cross-disciplinary research happening in the Neurorobotics Lab—and we’re thrilled to see their contributions recognized at a university-wide level.

👏 Congratulations to all our presenters! Your dedication and creativity continue to push the boundaries of neuroengineering.

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Connor, Monika, & Abby pass Ph.D. Research Proposals!

Congrats to three of our Ph.D. students for passing their Research Proposals! This two-part milestone requires a written and oral presentation of the student’s dissertation plan. Students must demonstrate adequate preparation to begin independent research per their supervisory committee. They must be well-versed in the fundamentals, have sophisticated familiarity with the primary literature in the proposed area of research, and demonstrate an ability to design and effectively communicate a competent, sound research plan.

Congrats, Connor, Monika, and Abby, on completing this major milestone!

Connor Olsen, Electrical and Computer Engineering: “Optimizing Electrode-Skin Interfaces and Evaluation Metrics to Improve Myoelectric Prosthetic Use”
Monika Buczak, Biomedical Engineering: “Intuitive, Myoelectric Control of Assistive Devices”
Abby Harrison, Biomedical Engineering: “Leveraging Transcutaneous Stimulation to Provide Sensory Feedback after Limb Amputation”

 

Presentations at Utah BME Conference

Congrats to our presenters at the 2025 Annual Utah Biomedical Engineering Conference. This includes: Troy Tully, Caleb Thomson, Monika Buczak, Clay Stanley, Abigail Harrison, Connor Olsen, Mingchuan Cheng, Josh Gubler, and Kaysen Hansen! The Utah NeuroRobotics Lab was represented well!

Dr. George Presents at AOPA

At the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association National Assembly, Dr. George served as a panelist for a session titled "Powered Upper Extremity Bracing: A Review of Reimbursement, Current Technology, and Clinical Opportunities." Dr. George presented on next generation control systems for powered upper extremity braces. His talk featured work from PhD students Caleb Thomson, Connor Olsen, and Fredi Mino which show that stroke patients can use residual muscle activity from their paretic limb to provide dexterous control of the MyoPro exoskeleton. To achieve this, the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab uses high density EMG combined with deep learning.

This panel was in collaboration with Myomo, the leading manufacturer of powered upper-limb orthotics. In April this year, Myomo received new medicare reimbursement codes to fully cover the cost of the MyoPro exoskeleton. It is expected that the number of powered upper-limb orthoses are the market will sharply increase as a result.