Robert Kirsch, the Allen H. and Constance T. Ford Professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, hosted the 2019 Council of Chairs BME Education Summit at Case Western Reserve University May 29-31. He recently held the position of chair of the Council of Chairs and organized the first education summit in 10 years.
About Kirsch
Kirsch’s research focuses on the mechanics and control of human movement with the goal of restoring functional movement to people with disabilities.
In this work, he studies the properties of the intact body to determine basic mechanical properties and to understand how the nervous system normally controls movement. He also studies individuals with neurological disorders such as spinal cord injury to determine how we can restore movements using electrical stimulation of paralyzed muscles, or surgical procedures such as muscle tendon transfers. Recent applications also include work with providing commands to advanced prosthetic arms and hands.