1999


From: Case Western Reserve University

Biology, engineering jointly train students in neuro-mechanics

Twenty-eight graduate students in biology and engineering at Case Western Reserve University will have research opportunities over the next five years to work with leaders in the fields of biorobotics and neuro-mechanical prostheses.

A $2.62 million Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) grant from the National Science Foundation will enable students to participate in designing agile robots with the ability to maneuver over a diverse terrain, and creating devices to restore coordinated and balanced movements to individuals with impaired nervous systems.

Roy Ritzmann, professor of biology and the grant's principal investigator, and Patrick Crago, professor of biomedical engineering and co-principal investigator, will oversee the CWRU project.

CWRU's "Training in Neuro-mechanical Systems" was among the projects which NSF funded at 21 doctorate-granting institutions to stimulate key changes in graduate education and research training. The agency's goal is to cultivate more well-rounded scientists and engineers with greater interdisciplinary competence.

The grant will support research, courses, travel to conferences in this field and funds to bring the "stars" of neuro-mechanics to campus to interact with students, says Ritzmann.

The projects are geared to educate and prepare scientists and engineers for emerging career opportunities in industry, government, and academics.

"The program hopes to generate sufficient interaction between biology and engineering students so that they can achieve an understanding of basic concepts and vocabulary to promote efficient work in multidisciplinary teams," notes Ritzmann.

"Cross-disciplinary understanding and training is required to understand the complex problems in these fields. One field cannot handle the full complexity of the problem," adds Crago, whose research group develops electrical devices implanted in the body to restore movement to arms and legs lost through spinal cord injuries.

The first motor system neuroprosthesis approved by the FDA restores hand grasp function for individuals with spinal cord injury. It was developed by CWRU biomedical engineers with funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Veterans Administration. The FDA has subsequently approved other motor system neuroprostheses to restore bladder control and tremor.

The project will involve a team of seven biologists and engineers who will collaborate on research in the areas of neurobiology and biomechanics of movement behavior, biorobotics, evolution and analysis of model neuro-mechanical systems, and motor system neuroprostheses.

"Our goal is not to generate students who are jacks of all trades, but rather specialists who are capable of working in teams with other specialists," says Ritzmann.

Faculty members from these disciplines have collaborated for the past decade on developing award-winning legged and worm-like robots based on the behavior of cockroaches and slugs.

"The challenge has been to develop a robot that is as agile as an animal," explains Ritzmann. Legged robots have the potential to maneuver around and over obstacles much better than wheeled vehicles.

"Our collaborations are not a one-way street," says Ritzmann. He explains that biologists, who study animal movement, can help engineers, designing robots mimicking animal behavior. If these movements fail to translate into mechanical movement, Ritzmann adds, "It also provides the biologists with important information on how the animal works."

He adds that he hopes graduate students will be as excited about facing the challenges biologists and engineers must overcome to design these biorobotic devices.

Biomedical engineers, such as Crago, also look to biology to solve coordination and balance problem as they develop neuroprostheses. Generating movements that are coordinated and stable, while correcting for errors, is why his research needs to understand how the skeleton, nerves, and muscles controlled by the nervous system function in order to produce these functions through the neuroprostheses, says Crago.

"The way nature does it may be the optimum way to solve problems," he adds.

Other faculty participating in the project are Randall Beer, associate professor of electrical engineering and applied physics (EEAP); Michael Branicky, assistant professor of EEAP; Hillel Chiel, professor of biology; Robert Kirsch, assistant professor of biomedical engineering; and Roger Quinn, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

One of the major barriers to two disciplines collaborating is learning the vocabulary and concepts of the other area. Ritzmann says it took him almost a decade before he felt comfortable with the language of the engineer as he collaborated with mechanical engineers working with Quinn on the biorobotics projects.

"NSF has long recognized the demand for a high level of cross-disciplinary knowledge and expertise and is cultivating a 'new breed' of scientist and engineer through the IGERT program," said Luther Williams, NSF's assistant director of education and human resources.

IGERT grants also respond to recommendations from the National Academy of Science's Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, which advised in a 1995 report to repair "the misalignment" between the training of graduate students and what employers seek, such as by developing communication and teamwork skills, multidisciplinary research experience, and adaptability.




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