Bionics Engineer
Hugh Herr, who heads the Biomechatronics research group at the MIT Media Lab, focuses on developing physically assistive technologies that will be intimate extensions of the human body—structurally, neurologically, and dynamically. A double amputee himself, Herr is the holder (or co-holder) of 14 patents related to assistive devices, including those for a computer-controlled artificial knee, commercially available as the Rheo Knee, an active ankle-foot orthosis, and the world’s first powered ankle-foot prosthesis. The powered foot and ankle is being commercially produced by iWalk, a Media Lab spinoff company, of which Herr is founder and chief scientific officer. These devices are advancing an emerging field of science that applies the principles of muscle mechanics, neural control, and human biomechanics to guide the design of biomimetic robots and human rehabilitation devices. The goal is to rehabilitate individuals suffering from limb loss or pathology, and also to augment human physical capabilities.
The computer-controlled knee was named one of TIME magazine’s Top Ten Inventions in 2004; the robotic ankle-foot prosthesis, which mimics the action of a biological ankle and, for the first time, provides transfemoral amputees with a natural gait, was named to the same list in 2007. In 2007, Herr was presented with the 13th annual Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment. He is also the recipient of the Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Leadership Award (2005). With the Providence VA Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine and Brown University, Herr received a $7.2 million grant from the US Department of Veterans Affairs to create “biohybrid” limbs to restore natural function to amputees (2004, renewed 2009). Herr received his BA in physics from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, an MS in mechanical engineering from MIT, and a PhD in biophysics from Harvard University.