Valero-Cuevas Gets Grip on Study
Photo/Philip Channing
Associate professor Francisco Valero-Cuevas of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and the USC School of Dentistry’s Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy will work with Chang Liu of Northwestern University, Yoky Matsuoka of the University of Washington and Emanuel Todorov of the University of California, San Diego.
According to an announcement, “the main goal of this project is to understand how to achieve dexterous, approximately optimal control of a hand by having humans and computers perform familiar but challenging tasks of manipulating objects. Researchers will use the same algorithms to model human motor control and to go beyond the present state of the art in robotic manipulation.
“Dexterous robotic hands have a wide variety of possible applications in industry, space and national security. Improved understanding of how humans learn to optimize hand performance will also have broader benefits, particularly for the disabled.”
Department chair Michael Khoo hailed the announcement.
“Francisco has been at USC only one year and has continued his extraordinary production of first-rate research on his unusual and highly important specialty, the human hand,” Khoo said. “We are delighted to have him here and look forward to continuing outstanding achievements.”
Valero-Cuevas, who came to USC in 2007 from Cornell University, is the director of the USC Brain-Body Dynamics Lab dedicated to understanding the biomechanics, neuromuscular control and clinical rehabilitation of human mobility, with an emphasis on dexterous hand function.
The USC award was one of only four given in the area of cognitive optimization and prediction.
The Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Office funded eight others in the area of future infrastructure systems.
“These areas represent two exciting, emerging frontiers of engineering inquiry that can address important national needs and grand engineering challenges," said Sohi Rastegar, director of the office. “They will require an interdisciplinary approach to achieve a significant leap or paradigm shift in engineering knowledge.”
Competition for the awards was vigorous. Some 60 pre-proposals were received. The office asked for more details on only 18 of these, and funded 12, for a total of $24 million.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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