Category: Engage and Enable Blog
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The CNT provides mentors for local high school students
The Center for Neurotechnology (CNT) is helping to educate the next generation of neural engineers by mentoring students taking part in the 2018 NWABR Student Bio Expo, a year-long program focused on biotechnology, biomedicine and bioethics. NWABR Student Bio Expo participant, Claris Winston, with her presentation that explains how deep-brain stimulation and artificial intelligence, when…
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New, non-invasive treatment improves hand and arm function in people with spinal cord injury
Wayne Gillam Center for Neurotechnology (CNT) members at the University of Washington (UW), in collaboration with NeuroRecovery Technologies, are developing a novel, non-invasive therapeutic approach for people with spinal cord injury, which promotes long-term recovery of hand and arm function. On December 7, 2014, Joe Beatty, then 60 years old, was body-surfing on Kaanapali Beach in Hawaii, a popular…
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UW students compete to invent neural engineering technology with potential for real-world impact
Wayne Gillam In the Neural Engineering Tech Studio, students participate in a competition aimed at developing their ideas into prototypes for commercial and clinical applications. Armin Rouz’ mother has some visual impairments, and because of this she tends to lose things. “She loses cases for her glasses a lot, backpacks, water bottles, purses,” Rouz said.…
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High school teachers to share their neural engineering lesson plans nationally
Wayne Gillam For over two years, high school teachers, Larry Bencivengo and Benjamin Hart, have been teaching and sharing neural engineering curriculum they developed together at the CNT. They are now poised to take their lesson plans to a national stage. The old saying, “Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day.…
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CNT member unravels complex neural processes
CNT member, Mehrdad Jazayeri, and his research team at MIT study neural system dynamics involved in sensory and motor coordination, which are key to performing everyday tasks. Most of us don’t give too much thought to the effort required to do simple tasks like throwing and catching a ball, bringing a coffee cup to our mouth…
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CNT community helps UW grad student educate the next generation of neural engineers
Gaurav Mukherjee has been an active participant in the CNT and the neural engineering community at the UW for over three years, and he is paying forward the support he’s received by mentoring others. Gaurav Mukherjee, a University of Washington (UW) fourth-year doctoral student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been involved with the Center for…
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UW grad student makes neural engineering understandable and accessible
In addition to conducting her own research on brain-computer interfaces, Kaitlyn Casimo is helping to make neural engineering easier to understand for high school students and the general public. To say that Kaitlyn Casimo has a passion for science would be an understatement, as evidenced by both her educational focus and volunteer activities. Casimo holds…
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YSP-REACH offers secondary students an introduction to neural engineering
During the summer of 2017, the Center for Neurotechnology (CNT) piloted a new program designed to increase knowledge about neural engineering among middle school and high school students. YSP-REACH is an offshoot of the already existing Young Scholars Program (YSP), and it complements other summer programs offered by the CNT, such as the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), Research Experience for…
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Immersive research experience helps secondary school science teachers bring neural engineering to their students
Alexandra Pike, a science teacher at Juanita High School in Kirkland, Washington, loved teaching and working with students, but she missed the in-depth research experiences she used to have as an undergraduate at Grinnell College. When she discovered the Research Experience for Teachers (RET) summer program at the Center for Neurotechnology (CNT), she saw an opportunity to not only introduce…
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The “Quadfather” visits the CNT
When Todd Stabelfeldt, affectionately dubbed “The Quadfather” by the group of friends he rolls with, visited the Center for Neurotechnology (CNT) to speak at the Aug. 2 practitioner and end-user roundtable, he quickly commanded the room’s attention with disarming honesty, a no-nonsense attitude and down-to-earth humor. “I roll in the coolest-ass wheelchair in this world.…