Published 8.15.22 Back-to-school means back to Science Saturdays for the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. The 2022-2023 school year may have just begun, but it is never too early to plan for Science Saturday in your schedule. The Fall season of IHMC’s STEM enrichment series starts Sept 24 in Pensacola and Sept. 10 at the Ocala campus. Science Saturday is a series of 90-minute educational enrichment sessions aimed at students in grades 3-6. Sessions slated for the fall include bottle rockets, Sphero robots, 3D printing and more. Science Saturday sessions are led by IHMC researchers who take part of their Saturday mornings to share their love of science, technology, engineering and math with students. The sessions are free and you can keep tabs on the schedule and sign up at https://www.ihmc.us/life/science_saturdays/ Community sponsorships from Cox, Escambia Sheriff’s Office, Florida Blue Foundation, Gulf Power and Barnes Insurance make the Pensacola sessions possible. Dr. Ursula Schwuttke is the director of educational outreach for both IHMC’s Pensacola and Ocala campuses. She surveys Science Saturday parents to gauge the impact of the sessions. “We see that Science Saturdays are impactful for all families, but we see that we continue to make the… Read More

Published 8.12.22 STEM-Talk episode 140 is now available featuring Dr. Kaleen Lavin, an IHMC researcher who investigates the molecular mechanisms by which the body adapts and reacts to stressors such as exercise, training, and aging. At IHMC, Lavin uses computational-biology techniques to understand and improve human health, resilience, and performance. STEM-Talks co-hosts Dr. Ken Ford and Dr. Dawn Kernagis interview Lavin about this work as well as her use of exercise as a countermeasure for a wide range of diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s. The conversation includes an in-depth talk with Lavin about her recent paper that took a comprehensive look at the current literature surrounding the molecular and cellular processes underlying exercise-induced benefits and adaptations in humans. Other topics discussed include: A 2017 study Lavin worked on that took people with Parkinson’s disease and ran them through a high-intensity exercise program and found that not only did the exercise program help people preserve some of their motor function, but also restored some function. Why the reduction in skeletal muscle mass with advancing age is such a serious issue. How the lifelong habit of exercise offers protection against “inflammaging,” which is the experience of chronic low-grade inflammation throughout… Read More

Published 8.8.22 The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition robotics team lead by Dr. Robert Griffin secured a $3 million grant from the Office of Naval Research for SquadBot 2. The grant was approved in the summer of 2022. The grant will allow the team to build upon the progress made on the first iteration of the SquadBot platform, named Nadia. A fully functional Nadia would be capable of working alongside and in place of soldiers in operations including building search, patrol, and bomb disposal. “Nadia has the potential to shift the paradigm for urban operations and exploration, with the potential to save lives and reduce collateral damage,” Griffin says. The SquadBot 2 project will work to improve the hardware platform, as well as enhance Nadia’s semi-autonomous behavior architecture to include persistence, particularly for entering structures and moving objects and obstacles. The work also will focus on developing advanced mobility algorithms focused on high-speed and multicontact locomotion, including approaches for bracing, crawling, and standing up after a fall. Success will be measured by execution speed and reliability compared to humans. The goal is the design of a robot able to remove debris from its path, capable of multicontact locomotion,… Read More

Published 7.26.22 On episode 139 of STEM-Talk Dr. Matt Kaeberlein talks about the biology of aging, rapamycin, and what he has learned about slowing the aging process. Kaeberlein is a professor of pathology at the University of Washington who is well-known for his investigations into the basic mechanisms of aging. Much of his research is focused on identifying interventions that promote healthspan and lifespan. In a wide-ranging interview, STEM-Talk cohosts Dr. Ken Ford and Dr. Dawn Kernagis talk to Kaeberlein about longevity, his research into fasting and caloric restriction, and his recent investigations into rapamycin, the only known pharmacological agent to extend lifespan. Kaeberlein’s 2017 paper that showed rapamycin may reduce the mortality of companion dogs landed on the front page of The New York Times and was picked up by news outlets around the world. Other topics that Ford and Kernagis discuss with Kaeberlein include: His attempts to uncover the molecular mechanism behind lifespan extension via calorie restriction. Research into how inhibiting mTOR has been shown to extend the lifespan of insects, rodents, and animals. His 2006 study that showed fasting extends lifespan in worms more than caloric restriction. An article he published last year that summarizes several of… Read More

Published 7.13.22 Failure is an important part of research. But in a risk-averse culture, the chance to learn from failure is hampering the development of some of the most important national defense tools needed for our arsenal, argues the expert guest on Episode 138 of STEM-Talk. Dr. Mark Lewis is executive director of National Defense Industrial Association’s Emerging Technologies Institute (ETI), a nonpartisan think tank focused on technologies that are critical to the future of national defense. Previously, Lewis was the Director of Defense Research & Engineering in the U.S. Department of Defense, overseeing technology modernization for all military services and DoD Agencies. He also served as the acting Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Research & Engineering. In this role he was the Pentagon’s senior-most scientist, providing management oversight and leadership for DARPA, the Missile Defense Agency, the Defense Innovation Unit, the Space Development Agency, federally funded research and development centers, and the DoD’s basic and applied research portfolio. A self-described nerdy kid who was into model airplanes and rockets, Lewis traces his love of engineering to the Apollo program and the pivotal moment of watching Apollo 11. “I remember watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. As a kid… Read More

Published 7.5.22 If Jones Moore grows up to be an engineer, IHMC might be able to take a little credit. Jones, 12, has been to nearly every Science Saturday session Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition has hosted. This month, he spent his first week at Summer Robotics Camp as a rising eighth-grader. He was one of nearly 40 students who spent a week learning from the best at IHMC’s 2022 summer camp experience. Jones says the best part of robotics camp was building robots and learning to code. Robotics Camp is one of IHMC’s signature community outreach efforts for students, which also includes Science Saturdays, a school-year science enrichment program, and school-year field trips. Science Saturday is a series of 90-minute sessions on key topics including computer game design, robotics, roller coasters, butterflies, circuits and more. All are aimed at educating and inspiring the next generation of scientific minds. Robotics Camp is one of the best times of year at IHMC. It is when the doors open wide — and the next generation of scientists walk through. Instructor Heath Parr, whose day job is as an Escambia County middle school teacher, led some 40 students in grades 8-10… Read More

Published 6.17.22 Sleep is a precious commodity — especially if you struggle with it. Nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, and circadian biology are an interrelated web with tremendous influence on the quality of our sleep. In the latest episode of STEM-Talk (episode 137), we pick up a conversation with Dr. Greg Potter in an interview where he explores topics including insomnia, sleep apnea, time-restricted eating, exercise, nutrition, and supplementation. The first part of our interview (STEM-Talk episode 136) with Potter brought a deep-dive into circadian biology, sleep, diet, and metabolism. Potter ‘s work has been featured in the BBC World Service, the Washington Post, Reuters and other scientific journals and news outlets. Some of Potter’s conversation with IHMC’s CEO and founder Dr. Ken Ford in episode 137 touches on whether there is a biological basis for the idea of chronotypes, a concept that some people are better suited to an earlier or later sleep schedule. So, is there such a thing — biologically — as morning larks and night owls? “I think the chronotype does exist in both human and non-human animals” but it is hard to work out the influence of genetics and environment.,” says Potter, who cites a study about… Read More

Published 6.13.22 Dr. Niranjan Suri has been named an associate director at Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. Suri is an IHMC Senior Research Scientist and Associate for Research for the Information Sciences Division at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. Suri has been part of the IHMC family since 1994 and was part of its beginnings at the University of West Florida.  It is a fitting chapter in the career of Suri, who first connected with IHMC founder Dr. Ken Ford as a UWF student and teaching assistant back in the early 1990s. “I have known Niranjan since he was a student long ago and have enjoyed watching his development as a colleague and successful senior research scientist at IHMC,” Ford says. “He has always been a joy to work with and a team player. He has contributed to IHMC in many ways and now, while continuing his important research, he steps into a leadership role.” “One of the best parts of being with the IHMC team is to be able to work with a diverse, interdisciplinary group of people, with expertise in a wide variety of subject matters,” Suri says. “I think another excellent attribute at IHMC is… Read More

Published 5.31.22 Carol Carlan has joined the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition as director of philanthropy. Carlan, who most recently had been president of Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation, brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, and a deep connection to the community to the new role. “IHMC is a jewel of Pensacola. The team there has built an international reputation for excellence in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics,” Carlan said. “The healthspan, resilience, and performance research is on the same trajectory. The chance to be a part of IHMC, and to tell its story, was a thrilling opportunity. I can’t wait to get started.” As director of philanthropy, she will share IHMC’s story and help to grow national and communitywide support for its work. “Carol’s passion for improving the community is rivaled only by her commitment to the value of research and education as a tool to build not only an individual’s potential, but also a community’s future prospects,” said IHMC CEO and Founder Ken Ford. “We are fortunate to add an advocate of her skill and expertise on our team.” “As IHMC has grown, so too have the opportunities for the community to support our work… Read More

Published 5.17.22 Your body’s “master clock” evolved to help keep you alive and safe. And when it’s disrupted, it doesn’t take long at all for the negative impacts of that circadian rhythm shift to be felt in your health and well-being. The latest episode of STEM-Talk (episode 136) brings a deep-dive into the intricate connections between your body’s circadian biology, sleep, diet, and metabolism, with Dr. Greg Potter. Potter gained attention in the U.S. and Europe for his research into the importance of biological rhythms and sleep and how they affect people’s lives. His work has been featured in the BBC World Service, the Washington Post, Reuters and other scientific journals and news outlets. He also co-founded Resilient Nutrition in 2020, a company that leverages science to produce foods and supplements geared toward helping people feel and perform better. He earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in exercise science from Loughborough University in England before heading off to the University of Leeds for his Ph.D. During his STEM-Talk interview, Potter talks about a paper he published in Endocrine Reviews in 2016 on circadian rhythm and sleep disruption. Some of his key points: Organisms evolve in the presence of relatively predictable changes in the… Read More

Published 5.5.22 While immunotherapy is a relatively recent – and promising – cancer treatment, the underpinning of it goes back more than 100 years.  That’s according to IHMC Evening Lecture guest Dr. Duane Mitchell, whose April 2022 talk focused on immunotherapy for treatment of cancers, including the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma. Mitchell is an expert in the development of innovative immunotherapy treatments for children and adults with malignant brain tumors. He is the Phyllis Kottler Friedman Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery. He serves as Director of the University of Florida Clinical Translational Science Institute and Co-Director of the Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy.  He has pioneered therapies that have been translated into first-in-human clinical trials and multi-center phase 2 studies. His cancer research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health since 2009. In his talk, he reviewed advances in immunotherapy treatments for more than 15 types of cancer including prostate, lung, breast, and melanoma.  Immunotherapy is a field that has grown significantly in the last 10 years. Historically, the concept that the immune system might recognize and try to fight cancer dates back at least to the late 1800s. As a treatment, it began… Read More

Published 4.15.22 It’s not enough for elite warfighters to have a high level of physical fitness and cognitive ability in today’s military. They also have to be resilient. While the tools and weapons of today’s warfighters have evolved dramatically over the past few decades, the military’s understanding of the biological processes that govern human performance and resilience has not evolved to the same level. For years now, Ken Ford, IHMC’s co-founder and CEO, has envisioned a research team focused on finding innovative ways to extend the capabilities and resilience of high-performing humans who routinely operate in extreme conditions and environments. “One of the reasons we’re interested in extreme environments is that high performing humans often fail in these environments, and you can learn a lot by studying failure mode,” said Ford. “If you take a high performing human, like an astronaut, and put them in space, things can go bad very quickly. That’s just as true under the ocean and it’s just as true in a fighter jet.” Ford made this point during a 2018 interview with Florida Trend following a $1 million donation from Pensacola philanthropists and entrepreneurs Quint and Rishy Studer, who bought into the vision of an… Read More

Published 3.30.22 Can you spot the future superstar soccer player in this crowd? If your choice is anyone other than short, slight boy on the second row, second from the right, bad news: You missed Lionel Messi. Dr. Mark Williams, Senior Research Scientist at IHMC, has made it his business to learn what makes an elite athlete like Messi the best. His March 2022 talk as part of the IHMC’s popular Evening Lecture Series shared some of the common traits of the greats. The Evening Lecture Series has returned to both the Pensacola and Ocala IHMC campuses. To keep up with the latest schedule of talks, visit https://www.ihmc.us/life/evening_lectures/ Environment, birth order, adaptations, learning, and practice are all factors that build sports expertise, Williams said. So, too, is there room for science to explore the psychological and cognitive differences sports experts possess when compared to sub-experts in their field, Williams said. For example, as soccer players in the Premier League Academy system age up, game intelligence skills become more key than the strictly physical gifts that can set them apart from their peers early on. Elite athletes have some common psychological characteristics. They: Pick up more visual cues from their opponents’… Read More

Published 3.29.22 Progress is continuing on the new building project for IHMC’s Pensacola campus.  An architect was chosen in March 2022 for the project, which will create a research hub for human healthspan, resilience, and performance work. The winning team was a group of lead locally by DAG Architects, whose principle is Dave Luttrell, in partnership with Brent Amos from Cooper Carry, headquartered in Atlanta.   DAG is a Northwest Florida firm. Cooper Carry is a national firm with substantial experience in biomedical facilities.   DAG and Cooper Carry have stepped up to the plate within days of being selected and have been working with IHMC team on an NIH research building funding application. The next step will be soliciting a construction management firm to join the team.   The new IHMC Healthspan, Resilience and Performance Research Complex will be a leading-edge lab and office building. The projected four-story 44,000 square foot facility will include space for administrative support, outreach and training, in addition to state-of-the-art laboratories for the scientific team.  It expands IHMC’s downtown campus to three primary buildings and dedicates a space for the center’s research into improving the resilience and performance of people.  Since IHMC’s founding in 1990,… Read More

Published 2.28.22 The work that put bipedal robots on their feet came from IHMC — and its key authors were honored by an international conference recently. The groundbreaking work of IHMC’s Senior Research Scientist Dr. Jerry Pratt was honored at the 20th International Conference for Humanoid Robots virtually in late summer of 2021. A journal article authored by Pratt with co-authors Sergey Drakunov, Ambarish Goswami, and John Carff, an IHMC senior research associate, was named Most Influential Paper — a distinction spanning the 20-year history of the conference. “Capture Point: A Step toward Humanoid Push Recovery” has been cited more than 1,000 times since its publication in 2007. Today, key ideas from this project are the foundation of multiple humanoid robots’ ability to balance and recover from unexpected pushes. The Capture Point paper has become a critical reference point for the field of bipedal robotics. Expanding on mathematical models of balance, Pratt and his team developed formulas that allows bipedal robots to identify the area on the ground that they must step or shift to in order to avoid a fall if pushed. The original paper was demonstrated in simulation, but soon after publication, Dr. Pratt says, IHMC researchers, collaborators, and… Read More

Published 2.16.22 How can you put the “spring in your step” for an exoskeleton?   The answer could exploit key principles of locomotion neuromechanics to build wearable devices that improve the economy, stability and agility of human movement.    It’s something Dr. Gregory Sawicki has been working on at Georgia Institute of Technology. Sawicki is bringing his expertise to the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition as a senior research scientist.   He joined IHMC in January 2022 on a part-time appointment.   Sawicki will embed with the robotics, exoskeletons and human robotics interdependence group focusing on two broad areas.   “One is to help guide current human exoskeleton projects, such as developing exoskeletons for injury mitigation in industrial settings for the (U.S. Department of Energy)  and improving controllers for the Quix Exoskeleton for improving mobility for people with spinal cord injury,” Sawicki said.   The second is to help expand the research portfolio in human-machine robot interaction by consulting on preparation of new proposals to the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense, he said.   His work at the Physiology of Wearable Robotics (PoWeR) Lab has focused on how the biology behind the power of lower-limb joints can… Read More

Published 1.28.22 A $20 million hub of research into human healthspan, resilience, and performance is moving closer to coming out of the ground.  The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition has issued a Request for Qualifications for architectural, engineering and construction administration services. This RFQ can be found at https://www.ihmc.us/2022building/  Proposals are due Feb. 11. Once finalists are culled from the applications, presentations will be scheduled. A decision is expected by Feb. 28, 2022; construction is expected to begin later this year.  The new IHMC Healthspan, Resilience and Performance Research Complex will be a leading-edge lab and office building. The projected four-story 44,000 square foot facility will include space for administrative support, outreach and training, in addition to state-of-the-art laboratories for the scientific team.  It expands IHMC’s downtown campus to three primary buildings and dedicates a space for the center’s research into improving the resilience and performance of people.  Since IHMC’s founding in 1990, it has built an international reputation for excellence and innovation in robotics and artificial intelligence.  The HRP Center will extend that reputation for excellence in a new direction and reflects a strategic expansion of the vision of IHMC founder and CEO Ken Ford.  “IHMC’s international… Read More

Published 1.21.22 Science Saturday is back in business for 2022. IHMC’s popular STEM outreach program hosted four sessions in the fall of 2021 for grade-schoolers in both Ocala and Pensacola. The free, monthly event featured increased safety measures in response to the pandemic and still brought students a lineup of hands-on projects geared toward sparking the love of science for students in grade 3-6. The educational series is moving forward in 2022, says Ursula Schwuttke, director of educational outreach for IHMC, continuing its longstanding tenure as a community fixture that sees IHMC and community scientists lead half-day sessions that use “fun science” to spark learning, Schwuttke says. “Fun science gives kids the ability to discover their interest and ability in science, and to develop self-confidence,” she says. “Opportunity is vitally important for kids. Without the opportunity to discover their interest, they can’t know that it’s something they should pursue.” In fall of 2021, Science Saturday hosted sessions on computer game design, robotics, neural networks and machine learning, and the physics of roller coasters. Roughly 35-40 students attended each of these sessions. The Science Saturday lineup for 2022 includes sessions on game design, robotics, circuits, monarch butterflies and more. Parents find… Read More

Published 1.10.22 Taher Rahgooy, a Ph.D. candidate of the intelligent systems and robotics program launched by the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition and University of West Florida, became the program’s first graduate at UWF’s Fall Commencement in December 2021. Rahgooy was among the initial cohort of five students to join the program when it was established two years ago and was one of two students who transferred to UWF from Tulane University on the heels of Dr. Brent Venable, the program’s founding director. Venable previously held a joint appointment as a professor of computer science at Tulane and research scientist at IHMC. “The graduation of our first doctoral student is an incredible milestone for the intelligent systems and robotics program,” Venable said. “Only two years after its establishment, our program is contributing to the highly skilled workforce in the intelligent systems field, which is a national priority with a high demand market. His graduation validates and motivates all of our students, as well as UWF and IHMC mentors, to continue pursuing our innovative and personalized approach to graduate education in intelligent systems and robotics.” Rahgooy was a second year doctoral student at Tulane University when Venable accepted the director… Read More

Published 11.10.21 The U.S. Department of Labor announced on Wednesday that the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition has received a 2021 HIRE Vets Medallion Award for the research center’s commitment to employing veterans. The Medallion Award is the only federal-level veterans’ employment award that recognizes a company or organization’s commitment to recruiting, hiring, and retaining veterans. IHMC joins 848 other companies and organizations across the country who also were recognized for hiring veterans and providing them with career opportunities that take advantage of the diverse skills they acquired during military service. “I’m a Navy veteran and so many of the other people who were part of IHMC’s beginning are also veterans,” said IHMC founder and CEO Ken Ford. Between its Pensacola and Ocala branches, nearly 13% of IHMC’s new hires last year were veterans. IHMC’s Associate General Counsel Stephanie Tillery coordinated IHMC’s submission for the HIRE Vets Medallion Award. “To be considered for the award, an entity must meet a seven percent hiring requirement, and we greatly exceeded that high standard,” she said. “We submitted our hiring and retention percentages and demonstrated that IHMC values our veterans and provides ample support and resources.” IHMC is a not-for-profit research… Read More