Grants, Fellowships, & Awards

Grants & Fellowships

  1. NSF 2112363, Jan 2022 - Dec 2023. “SBIR Phase II: A compact electrotactile sensory feedback system for upper limb prostheses.” $1,000,000. Role: PI. [link]

  2. NSF 1951382, Feb 2020 - May 2022. “SBIR Phase II: Development and Evaluation of a Robust, Compliant, Sensorized Prosthetic Hand.” $937,162. Role: PI. [link]

  3. NSF 1843966, Jan 2019 - Dec 2019. “SBIR Phase I: A compact electrotactile sensory feedback system for upper limb prostheses.” $225,000. Role: PI. [link]

  4. NSF 1745999, Jan 2018 - Dec 2018. “SBIR Phase I: Development and Evaluation of a Robust, Compliant, Sensorized Prosthetic Hand.” $225,000. Role: PI. [link]

  5. IEEE Robotics and Automation Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology (RAS-SIGHT) grant, Jan 2018 – Dec 2018. “The PSYONIC-ROMP Collaboration: Providing Affordable, Advanced Prosthetic Hands in Quito, Ecuador.” $4,000. Role: PI.

  6. University of Illinois – iVenture Accelerator Fellowship, Jun 2015 - May 2016. “PSYONIC: Developing highly advanced prosthetic hands at 10x less cost to improve the lives of people with amputations worldwide.” $2,500 stipend, $10,000 in startup funds. Role: Fellow.

  7. NIH F30HD084201, NRSA MD/PhD Fellowship, Apr 2015 - Jun 2020. “Mechanisms for enabling closed-loop upper limb sensorimotor prosthetic control.” $215,600 for tuition/stipend. Role: PI. [link]

  8. Burroughs Wellcome Fund Collaborative Research Training Grant, Jun 2012 - May 2013. “Modeling neuroprosthetic reaching strategies for transhumeral amputees.” $5,000 for room/board and travel for research with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Role: PI.

  9. NSF 0903622, NSF IGERT Fellowship in Neuroengineering, Jul 2010 - Jul 2012. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Full tuition and stipend. Conducting research in Brain-Computer Interfaces. Role: Graduate Fellow. [link]

 

Select Awards

  1. Best of CES, Poc Network, 2022. [link]

  2. America’s 50 Greatest Disruptors, Newsweek, 2021. [link]

  3. MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35, 2021. [link]

  4. Young Alumni Achievement Award, Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2020. [link]

  5. Product of the Year, mHUB Chicago 4th Revolution Awards, 2020. Won for the Ability Hand.

  6. 8VC Social Innovator’s Cup, 1st Place Winner, Mar 2019. $8,000.

  7. AlphaLabGear Hardware Cup, Chicago Regional 1st Place Winner, Mar 2019. $3,000.

  8. McKinley Foundation Social Justice Award, Apr 2017. $500 award given for work on affordable prosthetic hands for people with upper limb amputations worldwide.

  9. NSF Award for Young Professionals Contributing to Smart and Connected Health, Aug 2016. $500 award for proposal on long-term clinical evaluation of sensorimotor control in prosthetic devices.

  10. 2016 Illinois Innovation Prize Winner. $20,000 prize given to the most innovative student at Illinois. Won for work on low-cost neural prosthetic hands with sensory feedback.

  11. Global Young Scientist Summit 2016 Attendee. One of four students selected from the University of Illinois, and 300 students worldwide, to attend this prestigious week-long conference in Singapore featuring lectures from Nobel Prize, Turing Award, and Pulitzer Prize winners.

  12. 1st Prize Winner, Cozad New Venture Competition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Apr 2015. $15,000 in startup funds for PSYONIC.

  13. Samsung Research Innovation Award, Cozad New Venture Competition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Apr 2015. $10,000 in startup funds for PSYONIC.

  14. University of Illinois College of Medicine - Urban Health Program, Susan La Flesche Picotte, MD Health Equity Pioneer Award, 2 Apr 2015. This award recognizes the achievements of outstanding individuals who have dedicated their lives to improving the health of vulnerable populations.

  15. Semi-Finalist, OneStart Biotechnology Accelerator Competition. Dec 2014 - Apr 2015. “PSYONIC: Developing highly advanced prosthetic hands at 10x less cost to improve the lives of people with amputations worldwide.”

  16. I-Corps Sites Program Participant. Aug 2014 - Dec 2014. “PSYONIC: Developing highly advanced prosthetic hands at 10x less cost to improve the lives of people with amputations worldwide.”

  17. Cornell Cup presented by Intel, People’s Choice Award. Apr 2014. “SmartCollar: A wearable device for canine search and rescue.”

  18. 2012 NSF IGERT Video & Poster Competition, Judge’s Choice Award, 1 Jun 2012. “Playing Checkers with your Mind: An Application of a SSVEP-based Brain-Computer Interface.”