{"70408":{"#nid":"70408","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Receive Three NSF Emerging Frontiers Awards","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $6 million to fund \nthree projects involving researchers from the Georgia Institute of \nTechnology. Each four-year, $2 million grant was awarded through the \nNSF\u0027s Division of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI). \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The EFRI research teams will probe some profound aspects of the \ninterface of biology and engineering,\u0022 said Sohi Rastegar, director of \nEFRI. \u0022If they are successful, the principles and theories uncovered in \ntheir investigations could unlock many technological opportunities.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis year, 14 transformative, fundamental research projects were \nawarded EFRI grants in two emerging areas: technologies that build on \nunderstanding of biological signaling, and machines that can interact \nand cooperate with humans. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\nThe three Georgia Tech projects include:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDeveloping a \u0022therapeutic robot\u0022 to help rehabilitate and improve motor skills in people with mobility problems;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECreating wearable sensors that allow blind people to \u0022see\u0022 with their hands, bodies or faces;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EGenerating\n and rigorously testing quantitative models that describe spatial and \ntemporal regulation of cell differentiation in tissues.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe therapeutic robot could enhance, assist and improve motor skills \nin humans with varying motor capabilities and deficits. The goal of the \nproject is to program a humanoid rehabilitation robot to perform a \n\u0022partnered box step,\u0022 which is a defined pattern of weight shifts and \ndirectional changes, solely based on interpreting movement cues from \nsubtle changes in forces between the hands and arms of the robot and the\n person. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo do this, researchers at Georgia Tech and Emory University will \nstudy how humans use their muscles to walk, balance and generate force \nsignals with the hands for guidance when moving in cooperation with \nanother person. They will also study \u0022rehabilitative partnered dance,\u0022 \nwhich has been specifically adapted to help improve gait and balance in \nindividuals with motor impairments. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our vision is to develop robots that will interact with humans as \nboth assistants and movement therapists,\u0022 explained principal \ninvestigator Lena Ting, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter\n Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory \nUniversity. \u0022We expect our project to have a long-term impact on quality\n of life of individuals with movement difficulties, such as those caused\n by Parkinson\u0027s disease, stroke and injury by improving fitness, motor \nskills and social engagement.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWorking with Ting on the project are Emory University School of \nMedicine (geriatrics) assistant professor Madeleine Hackney, Coulter \nDepartment of Biomedical Engineering assistant professor Charlie Kemp \nand Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing assistant professor \nKaren Liu.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor the second project, researchers at Georgia Tech and The City \nCollege of New York will investigate devices for \u0022alternative \nperception\u0022 and the principles underlying the human-machine interaction.\n Alternative perception combines electronics and the other senses to \nemulate vision. In addition to aiding the visually impaired, the \nfindings are expected to have other applications, such as the \ndevelopment of intelligent robots. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers plan to untangle how humans learn to coordinate input\n from their senses -- e.g. vision, touch -- with movements, like \nreaching for a glass or moving through a crowded room. They will then \nmap out how machines, such as robots and computers, learn similar tasks,\n to model devices that can assist humans. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe team envisions a multifunctional array of sensors on the body and\n has already developed prototypes for some of the devices. The full \ncomplement of wearable sensors would help a sightless person navigate by\n conveying information about his or her surroundings. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers hope their findings on perception, and the prototypes\n they develop, will spawn a raft of wearable electronic devices to help \nblind people \u0022see\u0022 their environment at a distance through touch, \nhearing and other senses. The technology would also benefit sighted \nindividuals who must navigate in poor visibility, such as firefighters \nand pilots.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPrincipal investigator Zhigang Zhu, professor of computer science and\n computer engineering in City College\u0027s Grove School of Engineering, \nwill collaborate with City College professor of psychology and director \nof the Program in Cognitive Neuroscience Tony Ro, City College professor\n of electrical engineering Ying Li Tian, Georgia Tech Woodruff School of\n Mechanical Engineering professor Kok-Meng Lee, and Georgia Tech School \nof Applied Physiology associate professor Boris Prilutsky.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe third project will address a fundamental question of \ndevelopmental biology: what controls the spatial and temporal patterns \nof cell differentiation? Answering this question will lead to a better \nunderstanding of the basic principles of embryogenesis, explain origins \nof developmental disorders, and provide guidelines for tissue \nengineering and regenerative medicine. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research will be conducted by principal investigator and \nPrinceton University Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering \nassociate professor Stanislav Shvartsman, Georgia Tech School of \nChemical and Biomolecular Engineering associate professor Hang Lu, New \nYork University Department of Biology professor Christine Rushlow, and \nUniversity of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Department of Computer \nScience associate professor Saurabh Sinha.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScientists know that among an embryo\u0027s first major developments is \nthe establishment of its dorsoventral axis, which runs from its back to \nits belly. The researchers plan to study how this axis development \nunfolds -- specifically the presence and location of proteins during the\n process, which give rise to muscle, nerve and skin tissues. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETo enable large-scale quantitative analyses of protein positional \ninformation along the dorsoventral axis, Lu and Shvartsman will further \ndevelop a microfluidic device they previously designed to reliably and \nrobustly orient several hundred embryos in just a few minutes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022By understanding this system at a deeper, quantitative level, we \nwill elucidate general principles underlying the operation of genetic \nand multicellular networks that drive development,\u0022 said Lu.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia 30308 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Robinson (abby@innovate.gatech.edu; 404-385-3364) or John Toon (jtoon@gatech.edu; 404-894-6986)\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe National Science Foundation has awarded $6 million through its Division of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation to fund three projects involving researchers from Georgia Tech, including Karen Liu and Charlie Kemp (\u003Cem\u003EInteractive Computing\u003C\/em\u003E). \u003Cem\u003ESource: GT Research News\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27174","created_gmt":"2011-09-29 14:59:28","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:14","author":"Mike Terrazas","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"70367":{"id":"70367","type":"image","title":"(L-R) Lena Ting, Karen Liu, Charlie Kemp and Madeleine Hackney","body":null,"created":"1449177304","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:15:04","changed":"1475894618","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:38","alt":"(L-R) Lena Ting, Karen Liu, Charlie Kemp and Madeleine Hackney","file":{"fid":"192951","name":"tinggroup195.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tinggroup195_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tinggroup195_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":54570,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tinggroup195_0.jpg?itok=RcFrK7M2"}}},"media_ids":["70367"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1102","name":"blind"},{"id":"14478","name":"Boris Prilutsky"},{"id":"14480","name":"cell differentiation"},{"id":"2157","name":"Charlie Kemp"},{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"594","name":"college of engineering"},{"id":"11533","name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"898","name":"Hang Lu"},{"id":"2296","name":"Karen Liu"},{"id":"14477","name":"Kok-Meng Lee"},{"id":"2266","name":"Lena Ting"},{"id":"7341","name":"microfluidic"},{"id":"1482","name":"mobility"},{"id":"1356","name":"robot"},{"id":"167863","name":"School of Applied Physiology"},{"id":"167445","name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering"},{"id":"166848","name":"School of Interactive Computing"},{"id":"167377","name":"School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"id":"167318","name":"sensor"},{"id":"14479","name":"therapeutic robot"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}