Class Of 2015 Seed Projects
Project Title: Portable Adaptable Strength Testing Device (PAST)
Project Statement: Research and development of the next prototype for a novel portable and adaptable system that changes any weightâstack machine in a gym into a strength testing device.
Project Team:
- Noel Goodstadt, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS, Department of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences
- Sriram Balasubramanian, PhD, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
- Sheri Silfies, PT, PhD, Department of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences
- Arun Ramakrishnan, PhD, College of Nursing & Health Professions
Project Title: Biophilic Interior Living: Prototypes for Production
Project Statement: This project began as a way to test the feasibility of using algae micro-ponds to create nitrogen rich water fertilizer used in an indoor setting, garden or yard, and has evolved into creating an in-home hydroponics system to address the issues of food production in the urban environment.
Project Team:
- D.S. Nicholas RA, AIA NCARB; Westphal College of Media Arts and Design; Department of Architecture & Interiors
- Shivanthi Anandan, PhD; College of Arts and Sciences; Department of Biology
- Rita Truongcao, MS Interior Architecture and Design Graduating Spring 2016
- Will Char, Civil and Architectural Engineering Graduating Spring 2017
Project Title: Movement in Mind: Perception of Motor Skill and Aesthetics in the Minds of Experts
Project Statement: This project explores the human performance, perception, and memory of expressive and skilled movement in the domains of martial arts and Pilates, combining cognitive science research, motion capture, and eye tracking technology.
Grace is the efficiency of movement (Francois Delsarte)
Movement in Mind is a multidisciplinary collaborative project among Drexel University investigators that seeks to explore and advance the cognitive science of skilled human movement. The opening quote, by nineteenth century musician and acting instructor Francois Delsarte, summarized his philosophy in the creation of a ‘science of applied aesthetics’. Delsarte was an early pioneer in recognizing that expressive movement could be studied as a natural science.
Our project will revisit the nineteenth century idea of ‘grace as the efficiency of movement’ by applying twenty-first century research methodologies including motion capture, eye tracking, and computational cognitive modeling. This project focuses on the role that motor expertise—specifically in the domains of martial arts (Taekwondo) and Pilates—plays in the production, perception and memory of human movements that are within and outside of the observer’s motor repertoire.
This project will advance the basic and applied science of skilled and expressive movement by forming a multidisciplinary team of investigators drawn from Drexel’s program in Applied Cognitive and Brain Sciences, the Department of Performing Arts, and the Digital Media Program. The outcomes of this project will provide insight into the nature of how experts versus novices perceive skilled human movement, what aspects of human motion contribute to the perception of skill and expertise, and whether experience in martial arts confers any benefit to the perceptual memory for Pilates movement, and vice versa.
Project Team:
- Rachel Lerch, Graduate Student in Applied Cognitive & Brain Sciences, Department of Psychology
- Chris R. Sims, Assistant Professor, Applied Cognitive & Brain Sciences, Department of Psychology
- Jennifer Morley, Assistant Teaching Professor in Dance, Drexel Pilates Studio and Training Program Director
- Miriam Giguere, Associate Professor, Dance Program Director; Department of Performing Arts
- Nick Jushchyshyn, Program Director, Animation & Visual Effects, Digital Media Department