Human Balance Models for Engineering Education: An Innovative Graduate Co-Creation Project
- Conference
- Location
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Baltimore , Maryland
- Publication Date
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June 25, 2023
- Start Date
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June 25, 2023
- End Date
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June 28, 2023
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Graduate Studies Division (GSD)
- Page Count
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16
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--43399
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/43399
- Download Count
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221
Paper Authors
Alana Teresa Smith University of Massachusetts Lowell
Alana Smith is a first-year PhD student at the University of Massachusetts Lowell studying Mechanical Engineering and a research assistant in the BUilding REsilience through Knowledge (BUREK) Lab. Her research is focused on resilient systems in the renewable energy and agri-food sector. Using life cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, and process modeling, Alana is working on finding environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable solutions to energy and food security problems facing the world today. She uses handprint methodology to measure the effectiveness of positive changes to the business-as-usual case and encourage positive change in individuals, communities, and organizations
Emi Aoki University of Massachusetts Lowell
Emi Aoki is a PhD student in Electrical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her past research experience has been in data analysis and augmented reality application. Her research interests include stochastic modeling and machine learning.
Mahsa Ghandi University of Massachusetts Lowell
Mahsa Ghandi (she/her/hers) is PhD student of Industrial Engineering at University of Massachusetts Lowell. She is working on developing an early design environmental and cost assessment decision support tools to increase the affordability and implementation of resilient buildings in BUilding REsilience through Knowledge (BUREK) Lab. Additionally, part of her research focuses on mitigating impacts of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and economic risks during natural hazards such as flooding and hurricanes by enhancing sustainability, resilience of commercial and residential constructures.
Jasmina Burek University of Massachusetts Lowell
Dr. Jasmina Burek (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) and Principal Investigator at BUilding REsilience through Knowledge (BUREK) Lab. Her research focuses on sustainability and resilience engineering. She develops decision-making models to measure and minimize environmental, social, and economic impacts (footprint assessment) of products, materials, buildings using life cycle assessment (LCA). She has over 15 years of LCA method application in areas of buildings, energy, and product supply chains. At UML, she is moving towards the research in resilient buildings and developing LCA method to account for it.
Charles Thompson Ph.D. University of Massachusetts Lowell
Charles Thompson is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Director of the Center for Advanced Computation and Telecommunications and formerly Associate to the Dean for Research and Graduate Study at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from New York University, a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of NewYork, and a Ph.D. in Acoustics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Upon graduation he became an Assistant Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 1987 he joined the Department Electrical and Computer Engineering at UMASS Lowell as its Analog Devices Career Development Professor. Dr. Thompson has served on the executive boards of the Cooperative Research Fellowship program of Bell Laboratories (1991-1999) and the AT&T Labs Fellowship Program (1996-2006).
At Bell Laboratories Dr. Thompson created with the Vice President of Research and Nobel laureate, Arno Penizas, the W. Lincoln Hawkins Mentoring Excellence Award (1994). This award is given to a member of the research staff for fostering the career growth of Bell Labs students and associates. This award is Research’s highest honor for mentoring contributions. In 1998, AT&T Labs instituted a similar award named for Dr. Thompson.
Charles Thompson is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Director of the Center for Advanced Computation and Telecommunications and formerly Associate to the Dean for Research and Graduate Study at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from New York University, a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of NewYork, and a Ph.D. in Acoustics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Upon graduation he became an Assistant Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 1987 he joined the Department Electrical and Computer Engineering at UMASS Lowell as its Analog Devices Career Development Professor. Dr. Thompson has served on the executive boards of the Cooperative Research Fellowship program of Bell Laboratories (1991-1999) and the AT&T Labs Fellowship Program (1996-2006).
At Bell Laboratories Dr. Thompson created with the Vice President of Research and Nobel laureate, Arno Penizas, the W. Lincoln Hawkins Mentoring Excellence Award (1994). This award is given to a member of the research staff for fostering the career growth of Bell Labs students and associates. This award is Research’s highest honor for mentoring contributions. In 1998, AT&T Labs instituted a similar award named for Dr. Thompson.
His awards include the US Presidential Award for Excellence in Mentoring; Tau Beta Pi Eminent Engineer; James E. Blackwell Scholar; AT&T Bell Laboratories Cooperative Research Fellowship. He is cited in Who’s Who among African Americans, Education, and Technology Today; American Men and Women of Science, West Babylon Alumni Hall of Fame; He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and cited for his fundamental contributions to theoretical and computational acoustics. He is senior member of IEEE, and a member of the American Physical Society and Sigma Xi. He has published reesearch in acoustics, control theory, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, linear and nonlinear systems, and telecommunications.
Kavitha Chandra University of Massachusetts Lowell
Kavitha Chandra is the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Francis College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She directs the Research, Academics and Mentoring Pathwa
Abstract
Balance problems affect more than eight million adults, and the percentage of balance problems increases with age. Globally, the population is aging, making balance problems a relevant topic of investigation. Balance impairments are the primary cause of falls, which result in debilitating injuries, especially for the elderly population. There is a significant opportunity for students in engineering and other disciplines to explore and contribute to research and education in this area. In this work, a group of graduate students from electrical, industrial, and mechanical engineering present research that will be mapped into an educational module on this topic. This module is co-created with faculty and domain experts. Sensors of various types are being investigated for monitoring gait and identifying the propensity for losing balance. A survey of the state of the art of sensor technology pertaining to balance is conducted. Models of human balance during quiet standing are investigated. An interactive simulation tool is developed to allow students to vary the model parameters and gain an intuitive understanding of the engineering principles involved. For engineering students, this offers many opportunities to better understand how topics they study in engineering courses relate to a significant societal problem. For students in courses such as statics, dynamics, and control systems, the concepts of change in the center of mass, the center of pressure, the inverted pendulum, and stability can be reinforced in relation to the balance dynamics problem. This paper describes the framework that will be used in an educational module that will improve undergraduate engineering concepts through balance dynamics experiments and simulations, and present interdisciplinary research problems to graduate students. This study contributes to an Innovations in Graduate Education National Science Foundation research project.
Smith, A. T., & Aoki, E., & Ghandi, M., & Burek, J., & Thompson, C., & Chandra, K. (2023, June), Human Balance Models for Engineering Education: An Innovative Graduate Co-Creation Project Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43399
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