We are honored to have a 2018 Husky 100 member in our lab! The Husky 100 recognizes 100 UW undergraduate and graduate students from Bothell, Seattle, and Tacoma in all areas of study who are making the most of their time at the UW. Read an excerpt of Karley’s application packet below to learn more about her involvement with HuskyADAPT, her research with orthotic design, outreach, and her studies. Congratulations, Karley!
News
Students lead toy hack at Expanding Your Horizons Conference
Expanding Your Horizons (EYH website) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing gateway opportunities for female middle and high school students to become more involved in STEM activities and careers. Two of our Steele Lab teams participated. Michael Rosenberg and Momona Yamagami created a remote control car you can control using muscle activity, and engaged in hands-on learning with the young women. Members of the University of Washington’s HuskyADAPT (Accessible Design & Play Technology) team, including lab members Brianna Goodwin, Brandon Nguyen, and Karley Benoff, led a workshop yesterday on accessible design and adaptation of toys for children with varying abilities.
A total of 12 toys were adapted to incorporate a new switch mechanism to facilitate play, and 26 high school women learned about toy adaptation, soldering, and circuitry. Thank you to our HuskyADAPT team and our lab members for their dedication to outreach events!
Congratulations! Ben Shuman is selected for a Science Foundation Ireland Student Travel Award
Ben will be presenting two oral presentations at the meeting of the International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology (ISEK) in Dublin this summer. He was one of 13 young scientists selected by the ISEK Scientific Review committee and will be presented with a check during the awards ceremony. Congratulations, Ben!
Congratulations, Ben! Ben Shuman Passes His Ph.D. General Exam
Congratulations to Benjamin Shuman for passing his general exam! He is now officially a Ph.D. Candidate.
Ben’s Ph.D. committee agreed his scientific work to date and proposed final gait modeling project will culminate in the award of his Ph.D. in one year’s time.
To celebrate, a fellow lab member created a humorous photo with Ben’s face pasted into a movie still-frame. Congratulations again, Ben!
Jessica Zistatsis Successfully Defends Her Master’s Thesis
Jessica Zistatsis has successfully defended her Master’s Thesis here at the University of Washington, in Dr. Steele’s Ability & Innovation Lab.
To complete her Master’s in full, Jessica will be submitting and disseminating her thesis, A Passive Pediatric Exoskeleton to Improve the Walking Ability of Children with Neuromuscular Disorders.
To begin watching Jessica’s defense, you may view Part 1 on YouTube HERE, or directly below:
Our lab could not be more proud! To help celebrate her successful defense, the lab drafted a flyer depicting an empowered Godzilla wearing PlayGait, Jessica’s pediatric exoskeleton. Here’s hoping future children will use their newfound superpowers for good, unlike our friend in this picture!