Congratulations to a number of biomedical engineering students who received recognition at the 2017 Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity (CURC) Award Ceremony on April 25.

CURC, the annual Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity Showcase, is held each April to recognize and honor student achievements and showcase what they have learned as a result of their scholarly research, scientific inquiry, and/or creative endeavors.

The Canine Exoskeleton Team

Group members Kat Killingsworth, Ryan Leuenberger, Colleen Jones, Jordan Bernhardt, and Lindy Gillette, were awarded High Honors for their research poster, The Canine Exoskeleton. The Canine Exoskeleton Mobility System is part of a multi-year senior design project. The team has been working in conjunction with the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) at Colorado State University, as well as Orthopets for the last two years. The goal of the project is to create a device for a dog with hind leg paralysis. The device would be used in therapeutic and rehabilitation settings to help the dog regain mobility. Over the past year, the team has integrated the electrical and mechanical systems of the device to create one fluid movement. The integration will allow the dog to control the movement of their hind limbs based on data collected from the front legs. The team is also working on increasing the current speed of the braces to mimic real time walking movement. To accomplish this, the team is working with pneumatic cylinders to control flexion and extension of the hind legs.

Jacqueline Foss

Jacqueline Foss, biomedical engineering student and president of the BMES Student Chapter, received one of six “Best in Show” awards for her research titled, Studying shape changes of cancer cell lines with different degrees of invasiveness on hydrophobic and hydrophilic substrates using multivariate methods. “I learned a great deal about lab processes and protocols from my involvement in research and, through my contribution, I was able to present at both the American Society of Cell Biology National Conference as well as the CURC event,” Foss said.

Congratulations everyone!