Johns Hopkins professor visits Tech
Ashley Dison
Issue date: 3/18/10 Section: News
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The event served as part of the "Today's Leaders" series, which is in conjunction with the Center for Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Science.
Stanley Napper, dean of the College of Engineering and Sciences, said the series began in 2004 after he became the dean.
"I wanted to bring to Tech a series of leaders in the field of engineering and science to make it possible for our students to be able to relate to professional individuals in the field," Napper said.
He said the COES and the CBERS usually hosts a speaker like Thakor each month.
Thakor's presentation featured motivational speaking and information with visuals regarding Johns Hopkins University's research in the area of modern dexterous prosthetics and robotics.
He said Brain Computer Interface and Brain Machine Interface are key factors in the development of modern prosthetics.
"The goal of our BMI work at Johns Hopkins is to build neural interface and decode brain signals for the control of dexterous upper limb prostheses," Thakor said.
The BMI and BCI are created to read and decode signals from the brain and apply those decoded neural signals to the creation of custom prosthetics for each patient.
"The research is fascinating because we are working on highly specialized prosthetics that allow fully functional activities, such as different hand grasps, that were not possible before," Thakor said. "However, more research still needs to be done; we have done a lot, but we also have a long way to go."
Kinsey Cotton, a graduate student in biomedical engineering, said she attended the event as part of her doctoral program requirements and found Thakor's research to be fascinating.
"The strides that have been made in neuroengineering are amazing," Cotton said. "It was interesting to hear and see just how far the field has come in the area of prosthetics. Dr.
Thakor's presentation was very inspirational."
Eric Guilbeau, professor and director of biomedical engineering, said the purpose of Thakor's visit and other guests in the series is to motivate students and other professionals and to link Tech with other members of the engineering and sciences
community.
"The reason Dr. Thakor came was to motivate [students] to do exciting research, despite the challenges [they] may face in doing so," Guilbeau said.
Napper said the "Today's Leaders" series will continue indefinitely, in efforts to inspire Tech students.
"It is important to bring in today's leaders because our students here at Tech are the future," Napper said. "Essentially, we are bringing together today's leaders with tomorrow's leaders."
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