Category: Trainee Achievement

Congratulations to Marshall Trout for passing his PhD qualifying exam! Students in the Electrical and Computer Engineering PhD program are required to review two research articles related to their research and then provide a written and oral report. The committee then asks about questions about the research field and their research direction. Marshall's competition of his qualifying exam signifies that he has the background knowledge and research foresight necessary to complete his PhD research. Congrats Marshall! We look forward to seeing your exciting research coming up.

Today we received a record number of undergraduate research fellowships! Starting this Fall, we will have a total of six undergraduate research fellows working the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab! The students and their award-winning research projects are listed below:

• Abby Citterman, Biomedical Engineering: Compliance Discrimination through Sensory Feedback
• Elaine Wong, Electrical Engineering: Wireless Miniature Wearable Surface Electromyography Device for Intuitive Control of Smart Technology
• Abby Harrison, Biomedical Engineering: Discriminability of Transcutaneous Sensory Feedback
• Gabriel Santana, Computer Engineering: Data Augmentation of Electromyography Data to Improve the Performance of Machine-Learning Algorithms for Decoding Motor Intent
• Jared Zollinger, Biomedical Engineering: Surface-Electromyography Integrated Low-Cost Control System for Dexterous Bionic Arms
• Kennedy Powell, Biomedical Engineering: Robotic Supernumerary Digit to Explore Biological Control of External Devices and Shared Human-Machine Dexterity

These prestigious research fellowships are awarded through the University of Utah's Office of Undergraduate Research. Congratulations to our super-star undergraduates!

Congratulations to Rebecca Urban for being admitted to the highly prestigious Engineering Ambassadors Program at the University of Utah. Engineering Ambassadors are the student representatives of the College of Engineering. They are motivated students who represent the College of Engineering at recruitment, outreach, alumni, and development events. This is a highly selective program as ambassadors work directly with the Dean’s Office in the College of Engineering. Rebecca is a well-rounded individual with a love for the University of Utah and the College of Engineering! She has strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work independently and in a team environment. Congratulations Rebecca!

NeuroRobotics Lab Undergraduates Elaine Wong, Rebecca Urban and Kennedy Powell received research fellowships for Summer 2021 through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. This competitive research fellowship provides a $1,200 stipend and educational programming for undergraduate researcher to carry out a project of their own under the supervision of a faculty member. The awarded proposals were:

• Elaine Wong, "Wireless Miniature Wearable Surface Electromyography Device for Intuitive Control of Smart Technology"
• Rebecca Urban, "Discriminability of Electrocutaneous Sensory Feedback"
• Kennedy Powell, "Robotic Supernumerary Digit to Explore Biological Control of External Devices and Shared Human-Machine Dexterity"

Congratulations to Abby Citterman for winning first place for her poster presentation at the Utah Biomedical Engineering Conference! Abby's research explores how electrocutaneous sensory feedback is perceived - providing insight into the neural basis of touch and guiding the development of novel sensorized bionic devices. You can watch her award-winning presentation below!