The Utah Neurorobotics Lab welcomes Caden Hamrick, who will be joining us this Fall as a PhD student in ECE. Although he will be a new PhD student, he brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience. Caden worked with our lab as an undergraduate research fellow during the Summer of 2022, and was recently awarded the NSF GRFP. For his PhD research, Caden will be working on EMG decoding for human-computer interaction.
Welcome Caden!
Congratulations to Michael Adkins for completing the NSF I-Corps Entrepreneurial Training Program!
Through this program, Michael was awarded $50,000 for customer discovery to explore the commercial viability of his Electronic Grip Gauge (EGG). Over the past month, Michael interviewed over 100 stakeholders (therapists, patients, clinic directors, etc.) to come up with a concise value proposition for a beachhead customer. In other words, he found the problems worth solving, the solutions worth paying for, and the most likely first adopters. As a result of Michael’s hard work, we formed a start-up company and are now competing for seed funding through Bench2Bedside and an NIH STTR grant.
Two undergraduate research fellows from the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab, Cassandra Burdick and Joshua Gubler, presented their research at the Utah Conference of Undergraduate Research (UCUR) held at Utah Valley University. UCUR is an annual conference celebrating and highlighting undergraduate research. This event demonstrates and celebrates undergraduate research and creative work from 10 colleges and universities in Utah. Students of all disciplines from around the state share the results of their investigations with other students, faculty, field specialists, and the public. Cassandra’s and Josh’s presentations were:
Mingchuan Cheng, a dedicated member of our NeuroRobotics Lab since May 2023 and a junior at West High School, showcased his work at the district-level science fair on February 1st, 2024. Mingchuan’s research, titled “Unraveling Cognitive Load in Prosthetic Tasks via Detection Response Task,” delves into quantifying cognitive load to establish crucial baselines and standards for future prosthetic advancements. His approach lays the groundwork for enhanced prosthetic designs, allowing future researchers to use the Detection Response Task to objectively measure the cognitive load of individuals operating prostheses. Mingchuan’s dedication and innovative thinking exemplify the spirit of scientific inquiry we foster in our lab, inspiring peers and mentors alike. He will continue his research and present again at a state-wide science fair in March of this year.
Josh Gubler, an undergraduate student in biomedical engineering at the University of Utah, recently presented his research at the Research on Capitol Hill (ROCH) event on January 18th, 2024. The event, organized by the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Office of Government Relations, and the Office of Undergraduate Research, provides a platform for selected students to present their research findings to Utah State legislators. Gubler’s participation underscores the significance of undergraduate research and creative work from the University of Utah and Utah State University, the top two research universities in the state.
Gubler’s research at ROCH focused on finding strategies to downsample EMG (Electromyography) signals while maintaining good control. His work addresses practical applications at the intersection of biomedical engineering and signal processing. The event allowed him to engage with legislators, showcasing the real-world impact of his research and contributing to the broader conversation on the importance of supporting undergraduate academic endeavors, particularly in areas like biomedical engineering. The collaborative effort between university offices in selecting and showcasing students like Gubler reflects the institutions’ commitment to fostering a vibrant undergraduate research community across diverse disciplines.
See Josh’s poster here.
Congratulations to Monika Buczak for passing the biomedical engineering qualifying exam in neural engineering! As a part of the BME Ph.D. program, students must demonstrate expertise in the subject matter within their track specialization (e.g., neural engineering). After completing the relevant coursework, they meet this requirement by passing an extensive 8-hour written qualifying exam. This is a long and grueling exam, but also marks Monika’s final requirement to earn her milestone M.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering!
The Utah NeuroRobotics Lab recently welcomed two exceptional high school students, Mingchuan Cheng from West High School and Sophie Nelson from Murray High School, as participants in the College of Engineering’s Summer Research Internship program. Cheng and Nelson made impressive strides in their research project titled “Classification of Activities of Daily Living from Muscle Activity,” with the culmination of their efforts showcased at a symposium on August 4th, 2023.
Their innovative study focused on the classification of activities of daily living (ADL) based on muscle activity data collected from the wrist, forearm, and bicep. This research could have far-reaching implications for fields such as assistive technology and rehabilitation medicine.
