Some people call it “walking on ice”— the careful steps and slower pace that older people take on when they walk. Biomechanically it is a way to prioritize stability over economy — we slow down to decrease the chances we will fall and use our hips more than we use our ankles. But “walking on ice” costs our bodies more metabolically and reduces walking speed, both of which have downstream consequences for healthspan. Learning more about that intersection is the heart of a recent award by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition… Read More

Alex is going out into the world. The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition’s newly developed robot is the latest chapter in IHMC’s long history of excellence and innovation in the field of humanoid robotics. It takes the lessons of years of work on integrated controls and behaviors as well as in-house hardware design to prioritize out-of-the-lab testing and experimentation. Alex is a multi-year, multimillion dollar project funded through the Office of Naval Research (ONR). It builds upon the design work the Robotics team did on Nadia, a humanoid that advanced the genre — and gained YouTube notoriety playing… Read More

Recent military conflicts around the world have underscored the growing importance of autonomous systems, including drones, in modern warfare. In the civilian world, the impact of autonomous systems is equally profound and is expected to grow dramatically. Collaborative autonomy will enable everything from self-driving vehicles to space exploration and much more. Controlling and coordinating these interconnected human-machine systems, and maximizing their utility and efficacy in the air, on land, underwater, and even in space, will be critical to protecting the nation’s security and economic interests. An award secured by the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) has the… Read More

Published 11.10.25 Innovation has always had a home at IHMC and a partnership with Space Florida created another opportunity to showcase that. For the second year, the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition’s Pensacola campus hosted The Takeoff: Northwest Florida Pitch Day with partners Space Florida, Gain Venture Capital, and DeepWork Capital. Pitch Day connects market-ready research and startups in the region with investors, accelerating their path to commercialization and scaling groundbreaking technology. Dr. Morley Stone, IHMC’s Chief Executive Officer, said the Institute was proud to co-host Pitch Day again. “Initiatives like The Takeoff unite innovators, investors, and business leaders… Read More

The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) is once again in the international spotlight in the field of humanoid robotics. The Institute was named Outstanding Research Organization in the 2025 Humanoid Robotics Industry Awards for its Nadia humanoid project. The awards are sponsored by Humanoid Robotics Technology (HRT) in partnership with Novanta. Dr. Morley Stone, IHMC’s Chief Executive Officer, was thrilled that the team was recognized in this way — among competition such as the University of California at San Diego, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California at Berkley, Standford University, Shanghai Tech University, the Instituto… Read More

Marina Wather-Antonio was raised to ask questions — and encouraged to find the answers for herself. Born in the years after Portgual’s dictatorship fell in 1975, she says her father prized intellectual rigor and raised her to be an independent thinker. “My dad was very set on raising me in a way that I wouldn’t just be believing everything everyone told me,” she says. “Inadvertently, I think he ended up raising a scientist because I would ask questions as any little kid does and he would never answer them.” That led her to a career in science asking questions that… Read More

Published 10.3.25 The Carolina coast had a big influence on Dawn Kernagis. Kernagis was about 8 years old when her family moved to North Carolina, and as a water-loving child, she was often found swimming. Even so, the turning point for her was a visit to the Fort Fisher Aquarium that sparked what became a lifelong passion for diving. Seeing a giant aquarium full of different species of fish that lived subsea triggered Dawn’s curiosity. “This is amazing,” she thought. “I want to become a marine biologist.” She began poring over her father’s oceanography textbooks from a class he was… Read More

Published 9.4.25 Science was always part of Mari Dezawa’s life — even if she first thought she might head in another professional direction. Her father was a researcher and she remembers many weekends in her childhood spent in her father’s lab. But when she was in high school, she dreamed of becoming a lawyer. A childhood spent moving multiple times between the U.S., Japan and elsewhere for her father’s career, may have been a hindrance. “When I returned to Japan, my scores in reading and writing Japanese were low, she says. Struggling to keep up with those classes, she changed… Read More

Published 8.20.25 Strength-building and aging, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, and future of robotics and exoskeletons are all up for discussion in the Fall 2025 Evening Lecture series at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). Dr. Jonathon Sullivan launches the Fall season on Sept. 18 with a talk titled “Athletic Training, Transhumanism, and Telos.” The talk begins at 6 p.m., the reception precedes it at 5:30 p.m. in the community room at 40 S. Alcaniz St. in downtown Pensacola.  Reserve your free tickets today. Sullivan is a retired physician and neuroscientist known for his work in strength training in older… Read More

Published 8.18.25 There is a lot to love about Science Saturdays at IHMC. These science-enrichment sessions bring science to students in grades 3-7 in fun and engaging ways on topics ranging from paper airplanes to robot hands and roller coasters. The series returns for the 2025-2026 school year in Pensacola on Sept. 20, 2025. Learn more here. It is free — which is something parents can love. It is full of activities in which scientific principles jump out of the textbook and into the real world — which is something students and instructors can love. But what makes Science Saturdays… Read More

Published 7.31.25 Andrew Koutnik never imagined himself as a scientist. “As a kid, I had limited awareness of what a scientist actually was,” Koutnik says. Science segments on National Public Radio, which he listened to with his father, helped open his mind to the role science could have. Those little doses of science, along with the influence of a much-loved neighbor who routinely shared knowledge and resources with the young Koutnik, opened the door to his scientific journey. Today Koutnik is exploring those boundaries using his personal experience as a type 1 diabetic to fuel a passion for understanding and… Read More

Published 7.16.25 Nicole Stafford volunteered as part of IHMC’s Summer Robotics Camp to give students something she missed as a kid. “I did not go to a camp like this growing up and I feel like it is an excellent chance for kids to see if they like robotics and interact with scientists,” says Stafford, a mechanical engineer on the exoskeleton team at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. “(IHMC) does a great job to give kids that opportunity and it was special to be a part of.” Stafford, who earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree at… Read More

Published 7.11.25 It’s time for another episode of Ask Me Anything on STEM-Talk, available now on your favorite podcast platform. Dawn and Ken answer listener questions that range from generative AI to whether grip strength is a biomarker for longevity and the potential of ketamine as a treatment for depression. If you have a question you’d like to submit for a future Ask Me Anything, email STEM-Talk producer Randy Hammer  at  rhammer@ihmc.org. This episode includes:  Whether Ken and Dawn prefer to read books in print or digitally. Ken’s thoughts on a recent paper claiming that a decline in grip strength… Read More

Published 7.1.25 David Bear has joined the Board of Directors of the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, adding to his impressive business and civic resume. “David has a wealth of experience in both business leadership and civic involvement, along with deep community ties and philanthropic vision,” says Dr. Morley Stone, IHMC’s Chief Executive Officer. “He will be a tremendous asset to IHMC and we are fortunate to have him join our Board of Directors.” Bear is the owner and CEO of The Lewis Bear Company, a beverage distributorship founded in 1876 in Pensacola. Bear and his company founded… Read More

Published 6.24.25 It may not be what he envisioned as a college student, but Michael Schmidt says the blessing of “deep curiosity” has been the key to his career in science. “I didn’t have a master plan in place other than to know I was deeply curious,” he says. “I loved that intersection between performance, medicine and biology.” Aptitude testing he underwent showed that the process of discovery was most alluring for Schmidt and that became the driving force of his career. “We know that careers are short and needs are high,” Schmidt says. “There is a doctor sitting in… Read More

Published 5.21.25 Florida Blue, the state’s Blue Cross and Blue shield plan, has announced an award to the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) to further health and wellness research and community outreach. The investment reflects a continuing collaboration between the two entities and will help support education and outreach efforts that further IHMC’s mission to advance the human condition. The community room in IHMC’s new Healthspan, Resilience, and Performance Research Complex will be named in recognition of Florida Blue’s support. “Florida Blue is committed to improving the health of our communities,” says Hong Potomski, market leader for… Read More

Published 5.13.25 Episode 181 of STEM-Talk offers a meeting of some truly great minds in the field of artificial intelligence. It is available now on our website and wherever you listen to podcasts. The conversation features three fellows of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence: Northwestern University’s Dr. Ken Forbus. IHMC founder Dr. Ken Ford. And retired associate director of IHMC Dr. James Allen. Forbus is the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Computer Science and a Professor of Education at Northwestern University. He was the inaugural winner of the Herbet A. Simon Prize for Advances in Cognitive Systems. Co-hosts Ford… Read More

Published 4.9.25 Dr. Pascal Lee had led more than 30 expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic to gain knowledge for a greater adventure — Mars. Lee, a planetary scientist with the SETI Institute, the Mars Institute, and NASA Ames Research Center, brings his vision for reaching this next, lofty goal to his third appearance on STEM-Talk, available now wherever you listen to podcasts. “The return to the moon is one of those things we would have expected to happen much sooner. And even the journey to Mars, I had always hoped that we’d be much farther along by now,” Lee… Read More

Published 4.4.25 Skeletal muscle is vital to human health and disease management, particularly as we age. However, the muscle mass and functional declines that come with aging are influenced by a complex web of biological and behavioral factors. On April 10 2025, the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) will host experts across a host of disciplines for the “Skeletal Muscle in Aging, Healthspan, and Disease” symposium, organized by Dr. Marcas Bamman, Senior Research Scientist at IHMC and director of the Healthspan, Resilience and Performance research team. “The symposium is an opportunity to discuss the state of knowledge… Read More

Published 3.17.25 The Fredric G. Levin Lung Care Symposium will bring to Pensacola experts in thoracic surgery, lung cancer research, and pulmonary care for a day of groundbreaking discussions and advancements in the field. Hosted on the campus of the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), this live virtual and in-person symposium serves as a platform for physicians, researchers, and healthcare professionals to explore the latest innovations in lung cancer treatment, surgical techniques, and patient care strategies. “IHMC takes seriously our place as a home for innovation and scientific collaboration,” said Dr. Morley Stone, IHMC’s Chief Executive Officer. “Working… Read More