Triumph grant helps seed IHMC’s vision for human performance complex
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.

The planned IHMC human performance research complex will be a home for IHMC’s HRP work.
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 expanded role for IHMC to play in human performance.
The effort received another boost last year when Triumph Gulf Coast awarded IHMC $6 million to help seed a Healthspan, Resilience, and Performance team and complex. The new complex is being fast-tracked and will establish a one-of-a-kind capstone for research and development. The multimillion dollar facility will expand IHMC’s downtown campus into three main buildings.
In addition to creating a one-of-kind facility for human-performance research, the complex will bolster the regional economy through new funding in federal and industry-sponsored research.
“We will be collaborating closely with regional institutions and organizations that share an interest in human health span and performance,” said Julie Sheppard, IHMC’s Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel, who helped spearhead the Triumph proposal. “It’s our belief that these collaborations will lead to innovative spinoff opportunities not only for IHMC, but also will create opportunities for local technology transfer partners.”
IHMC has always focused on the development of science and technology to leverage and extend human performance, particularly cognition and then locomotion, said Ford. “Originally our work was strictly cognitive because IHMC was started mostly by artificial intelligence people. Then we moved to broaden that to include robotics. And then next we started looking at not just cognitive performance, but also physical performance, exoskeletons and several other related fields.”
About 10 years ago, Ford said he and others at the institute become more interested in broadening that work. “So now, rather than having only two approaches to elevating human performance, we are in the early stages of expanding our research into the biological means to do that.”
The Triumph funds, secured from BP in a legal settlement following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, have been set aside to stimulate economic development in eight Northwest Florida counties that were significantly impacted by the spill. Ford, as well as the Triumph board, believe the HRP complex will have a transformational economic impact on Northwest Florida.

Human performance research at IHMC will find a new home in a planned facility slated to open in early 2024.
IHMC currently receives significant federal government funding for its research, particularly as it applies to elite warfighters, astronauts and special-operations forces. The HRP complex will permit IHMC to grow its research portfolio in this emerging area. In addition to its collaborations with the Department of Defense, NASA and other federal departments and agencies, the HRP complex will bolster the regional economy through new collaborations and funding in federal and industry-sponsored research that focuses on molecular and genomic science; biochemistry; cellular and tissue biology; physiology; biomechanics; biomedical engineering; regenerative medicine; neuroscience; rehabilitation; clinical trials; and machine learning and computational biology.
The HRP complex is one of the reasons that Dr. Marcas Bamman joined IHMC last year.
“What we’re talking about is a rare, one-of-a-kind research opportunity,” said Bamman, an internationally recognized researcher known for his scientific contributions to the biology of human skeletal muscle and medical rehabilitation. Ford recruited Bamman to join IHMC’s biologically motivated team and become one of the ground-floor architects of the new effort.
As the founder and former director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for Exercise Medicine, Bamman and the UAB center have been recognized as world leaders in the biological mechanisms underlying exercise-induced adaptations and their clinical utility in disease prevention and treatment as well as rehabilitation.
“What drew me, in addition to the talent, leadership and vision of IHMC, is the unique opportunity to establish a capstone research complex for advancing knowledge in human performance and resilience in a truly interdisciplinary manner,” said Bamman. “The idea is to bring together all the key focus areas that have not necessarily been co-located before. In other words, we will be bringing together everything from clinical assessment to rehabilitation to clinical trials to molecular and biological analysis. Then we will be able to use computational biology to look at people’s biological responses to various treatments in a very powerful way.”
What particularly excites Bamman is that the complex will allow him and others to do research from molecule to man.

Research into human performance soon will have a new home as work is set to begin on $20 million facility on IHMC’s Pensacola campus.
“One of the unique things we have here at IHMC, which will be substantially advanced by the new complex, is the ability to integrate researchers who specialize in human performance and resilience with computational scientists, artificial intelligence and even robotics. IHMC’s exoskeleton-based work has a high degree of relevance for military operators as well as rehabilitation sciences. And like I said, to be able to do all this with one large team that leads research from molecule to man, or molecule to the whole human, is pretty remarkable.”
Research programs with this scope typically rely on bringing together the expertise and facilities of several institutes from around the country or world, said Bamman.
“In the new HRP complex, we will be able to walk across the hall and tap into the expertise of people outside of our particular focus area. It will be an exciting environment where we as scientists can all learn from each other.”
Another key player in the development of the HRP complex is IHMC’s Chief Science Officer Tim Broderick. Broderick is a surgeon and biomedical engineer who has been a pioneer in laparoscopic, robotic and telerobotic surgery.
Prior to joining IHMC in 2019, Broderick was an academic surgeon and a DARPA program manager. During his years at DARPA, he conceived and established five high-impact biotechnology projects that included revolutionary programs focused on precision diagnosis and treatment of military-relevant diseases and injuries. Broderick also has led multiple ground, flight and undersea-based biomedical research projects.
Broderick and IHMC recently worked on a project that is part of a DARPA program known as the Measuring Biological Aptitude program, or MBA. It’s an example of the type of project that will become part of new complex’s impressive portfolio.
The crux of the MBA program is correlating the externally observable physical, behavioral, and cognitive features and traits of specialized operators and pilots with measurable elements of their biology to understand and ultimately anticipate how they will perform in various situations over time.
“This project allowed us to work on developing a disruptive training platform that integrates revolutionary molecular and metabolic analysis with some advanced predictive models. These models will use the latest approaches in machine learning and artificial intelligence utilizing novel real-time sensors that will allow us to measure the performance of a special forces operator or pilot.”
Some of the projects in IHMC’s pipeline that tap into the institute’s new multi-disciplinary expertise in human performance and resilience include:
• Evaluating Potential Benefits of Intranasal Oxytocin on Undersea Operator Training and Performance: Naval Special Warfare (NSW) operators are exposed to a variety of extreme environmental conditions and intense physical demands. In addition to beathing high-pressure gases during prolonged cold-water immersions, inadequate recovery from sustained physical exertion underwater can negatively impact individual and team performance. The sponsors are looking for biotechnologies that could mitigate the effects of cold as well as support physical recovery, which would represent a significant unmet need for the NSW operational community. A possible mitigant is oxytocin, which has a wide range of actions both locally in the brain and peripherally in the body as well as in skeletal muscle. These peripheral effects can be mediated by classic ligand-receptor activation given the abundant expression of the oxytocin receptor in peripheral tissues. The IHMC project is looking at the administration of exogenous oxytocin, an approved FDA Investigational New Drug that has been shown as an easy and safe method to increase circulating oxytocin concentrations that may augment actions on peripheral tissues. It is an easily administered, adjunctive biological therapy that has the potential to improve recovery, performance and resilience of warfighters.
• Strategies to Augment Ketosis: Assessment of Prophylactic Ketone Administration on Concussive Injury in the U.S. Army Basic Airborne Course: IHMC researchers are conducting a novel trial designed to assess the efficacy of ketone ester supplementation during U.S. Army Basic Airborne Course training as a prophylactic against detrimental cognitive outcomes that soldiers sometimes experience following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The study is exploring whether a metabolically supported ketone-fueled brain is more protected from neurotrauma. As part of the trial, researchers are examining the pre-jump prophylactic potential of ketone ester supplementation to attenuate closed head injury-induced changes in cognitive performance. Researchers also are looking at the potential of ketone esters to alter blood and urine-based protein, molecular, metabolic and lipid profiles that are impacted by closed head injury during jump training. Another aspect of the study is the development of a multidimensional predictive model of mTBI risk among basic airborne training course participants.
Dr. Morley Stone, IHMC’s Chief Strategic Partnership Officer, says projects like this build upon the institute’s multidisciplinary experience. IHMC already has extensive experience with traumatic brain injury research as well as a long history of productive and collaborative research for the Department of Defense.
“In addition to our reputation and heritage of impactful research, IHMC’s internationally known researchers along with the new HRP complex will give us the infrastructure and experience capable of accepting and executing a wide range of grants and contracts related to human performance and resilience,” Stone said.
To accommodate this expansion into human-performance research, IHMC is hiring people with specialized expertise (see profiles pages 5 and 6). Dr. Kaleen Lavin is a physiologist and molecular biologist who was a postdoc with Bamman at UAB for three years before recently joining IHMC. Her specialties are in human physiology and computational biology.
“What I do is provide a kind of molecular perspective on how a person’s biology works. I incorporate a lot of computational work that helps us understand why people respond differently to exercise and other stressors, and why some people are more resilient than others when exposed to the exact same type of stress.”
To do this, Lavin is looking at a person’s biology at a very fine molecular level. She’s looking at a person’s gene expression and different proteins and how they change from person to person with exposure to stress.
“It requires a computational approach where the datasets are enormous,” said Lavin. “That’s how we are able to see the fine changes that we do see. But you can’t look at these datasets in a spreadsheet like you can with other types of data. Here, we’re talking about several tens of thousands of rows of data. Because of the complexity of the work we’re doing, it will significantly improve the speed and accuracy of our work if we’re able to have it become more automated with AI.”
Lavin is already working with some of the AI scientists at IHMC on innovative ways to analyze data and write programs that will advance how researchers can interpret the complex sets of molecular data that she pulls together. As Bamman points out, “There are just not that many research environments where you can walk across the hallway and do that.”
Bamman says the work that Lavin is doing is a great example of the kind of research IHMC will be able to do through the HRP complex.
“We want to be able to take blood and saliva samples and map all the molecular responses that can occur as a result of any number of things that can change a person’s physiology and how it relates to their physical and cognitive performance.”
For example, Bamman said, take two military operators who are performing some sort of strenuous task in an extreme environment like high altitude. There would be common responses between the two at the molecular level. But there would also be several differences between the two. So how that high-altitude stress impacts the two individuals differently at the molecular and performance level is what we’re trying to understand. “Kaleen is working with our AI scientists to map all of these similarities and differences,” said Bamman.
That’s why Lavin is so excited about the human performance complex.
“I love having the ability to ask the kind of questions that Marcas and the other researchers are talking about and having the resources around me to answer them in the most rigorous way possible by working with people who are top experts in their fields, fields that are quite different than mine. I mean, there’s no better way to do this kind of research. That’s what brought me to IHMC.”
Ford is working to fast-track the HRP complex and have the doors open in 2024.
“There is so much we can do once we get the HRP facility up and running. We will have an environmental chamber that we can use as a stress environment. We will have flight simulators and labs and the kind of advanced technology that will help rigorously test and measure physical and cognitive performances of warfighters, astronauts, pilots and other high-performing humans. I envision the complex being a place where researchers can, with very little bureaucracy, have access to a wide range of expertise to bear on a problem.”
Ford says that in terms of IHMC future, he anticipates about a third of the work at the institute will be in human performance and about a third in AI and another third in robotics.
“The vision for the human performance complex is to have a place where you can combine the computational expertise, the biological expertise and the translational expertise all in one place so that we can, as Marcas says, do research from molecule to man,” said Ford. “This facility really will be one-of-a-kind.”
IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System where researchers pioneer science and technologies aimed at leveraging and extending human capabilities. For more information, visit ihmc.us.
Dr. Mark Williams part of Evening Lecture series return
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.

Dr. Mark Williams
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’ bodies. That’s because their hours of practice have created a rich library of cues and scenarios about what might happen next.
- Have superior pattern recognition.
- Have more effective visual search behaviors. That’s reflected in something called the “Quiet Eye” phenomenon. That’s the period of final visual fixation before the performance of the final phase of movement — when it really counts, what your eye lasers in on before you commit the physical movement.
- Have greater robustness under pressure (fixate centrally and use peripheral vision to gather info).
What also begins to matter more is what Williams calls, the psychology of excellence. Skills like motivation, mental toughness, perfectionism, resilience, and coping become crucial components for an expert, he says.
And while yes, the popular notion that it takes 10,000 hours of practice — at least — to be great at something has scientific merit, expertise is also developed by how those hours are spent. Experts, Williams shared, avoid arrested development by engaging in deliberate practice: Practice with a purpose.
Experts devote more time to practicing weaker skills, exhibit more self-reflection, use more physical and mental effort during practice, and may find practice less enjoyable.
Understanding how expertise is built can improve coaching and teaching strategies.
The challenge of coaching, for example, is “what’s the least amount feedback the learner needs to sustain change in performance?” Williams says. “To infer that learning takes place, I have to see that change in performance contributes to future practices.”
What we learn about how expertise develops in sports can have implications for other fields, including the military, law enforcement, hospital emergency departments, and aviation, William says, all fields where expertise, developed in an often high-stress environment, can mean the difference between a life-or-death outcome.
To learn more about Dr. Mark Williams’ work, check out his book “The Best: How Elite Athletes Are Made.”
IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System where researchers pioneer science and technologies aimed at leveraging and extending human capabilities. For more information, visit ihmc.us.
Architect chosen for human performance research complex project

The planned IHMC human performance research complex will be a home for IHMC’s HRP work.
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, it has built an international reputation for excellence and innovation in robotics and artificial intelligence. The HRP team’s work is focused on improving the performance of elite military members given the stressors they face. But the ultimate applications could be far-reaching, offering substantial healthspan benefits to the general population.
The goal is for the team to occupy the new building in January 2024.
IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System where researchers pioneer science and technologies aimed at leveraging and extending human capabilities. For more information, visit ihmc.us.
Jerry Pratt honored with “Most Influential Paper” award

Jerry Pratt
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 peers in the field were able to put Capture Point ideas into practice on real robots. The IHMC team and other participants in the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge used Pratt’s findings to enable their robots to navigate the course.
Looking back at the significant impact this groundbreaking paper has had over the years, Dr. Pratt credits the dedication of his coworkers and colleagues and IHMC’s culture of innovation for his success and recent recognition at the 2021 Humanoids conference.
“We knew we were on to a good idea, so we did put a lot of effort into making sure it was high quality,” he says of the paper.
Pratt received the Humanoids Most Influential Paper award virtually this summer. He and colleagues continue to expand upon Capture Point concepts in the lab. He and his team are working to make IHMC’s humanoid robots lighter and more able to approximate the agility of human muscle-actuated limbs.
Senior research scientist joins IHMC team from Georgia Institute of Technology

Greg Sawicki is joining IHMC as a senior research scientist with the robotics team.
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 be adapted to robotic devices to help both healthy and impaired people walk better.
According to their website, The PoWeR lab’s goal is creating lower-limb wearable exoskeletons that are “symbiotic” for the wearer, maximizing the energy needed for assisted walking.
Sawicki has been working on the design of a portable, passive elastic exoskeleton and clutching mechanism that can provide ‘the spring in your step’ by storage and release of elastic energy in a parallel elastic element worn about the ankle — an exo-tendon of sorts — while walking.
As part of IHMC, Sawicki maintains his status as associate professor at Georgia Tech, where he splits his time with appointments in both the School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Biological Sciences.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a master’s in mechanical engineering from the University of California-Davis. He finished his Ph.D. in human neuromechanics at the University of Michigan at Ann-Arbor. He also worked as a National Institutes of Health-funded post-doctoral Fellow in integrative biology at Brown University.
Design proposals sought for new IHMC research center

Human performance research at IHMC will find a new home in a planned facility slated to open in early 2024.
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 reputation in robotics and artificial intelligence speaks for itself,” Ford says. “Our Healthspan Resilience and Performance team will focus on innovative ways to extend the capabilities and resilience of high-performing humans such as astronauts, fighter pilots, and elite special operators.”
The HRP team’s work is focused on improving the performance of elite military members given the stressors they face. But the ultimate applications could be far-reaching, offering substantial healthspan benefits to the general population.
Dr. Marcas Bamman, the senior research scientist who leads the HRP team, sees the center’s work as something that covers “molecules to the whole human.”
“It’s more than applied science,” he says. “It’s seeing who performs a task well, unraveling the how and why, and taking what we learn to optimize ways of improving each person’s abilities.”
The goal is for the team to occupy the new building in January 2024.
IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System where researchers pioneer science and technologies aimed at leveraging and extending human capabilities. For more information, visit ihmc.us.
Science Saturdays Return
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 Science Saturday provides much-needed science enrichment.
“The fact that this is the only enrichment Science opportunity in Ocala that is free and open to all of Marion County Public School students is extraordinary and greatly appreciated!” says the parent of a fourth-grade boy who attended in Ocala.
“My first child counts science and math as her favorite subjects. My second has a wonderful science curiosity and is open to all kinds of lessons, so I appreciate a wide diversity in your programming,” says a Pensacola parent. “Thanks for a consistently high quality experience in our children’s community.”
The adults at the head of the classes enjoy it, too, including Heath Parr, technology education teacher at Brown-Barge Middle School in Pensacola.
“I enjoy teaching Science Saturday’s because the hands-on activities allow the students to truly engage with the lessons,” Parr says. “The students are allowed to move, discuss, and interact with each other. These learning environments are important to independent inquiry and leads to deeper understanding and knowledge retention.”
For 2022, safety guidelines around masks, limiting occupancy, and distancing will be in place to help everyone stay safe while they learn. Enrollment will be capped at 24 students per session.
Sign-up for each session opens two weeks before the date of each Saturday. To register your child, email PensacolaScienceSat@ihmc.us or call 850-202-4462.
Visit www.ihmc.us/outreach/science_saturdays and join the mailing list to stay up to date.
UWF and IHMC’s Intelligent Systems and Robotics program celebrate first Ph.D. graduate
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 role at UWF. He said it wasn’t initially an easy decision to transfer, but three key factors played a role in convincing him to make the jump.
“I really enjoyed working with Dr. Venable, as she is an extraordinary researcher and advisor and I knew that continuing to work with her would keep me on track for my future career,” Rahgooy said. “She told me about the IHMC community, which gives intelligent systems and robotics students access to world-class researchers. Finally, I knew the program would provide facilities for doctoral students that are essential for performing many machine learning and artificial intelligence tasks requiring the handling of big data.”
The program centers on developing leading-edge software and hardware technology that combines human and machine elements to exploit their respective strengths and mitigate their respective weaknesses. The first of its kind in Florida and one of only a few in the nation, the program serves the manufacturing, health care, defense and other high-tech industries, providing critical support to high-demand career fields.
The doctorate in intelligent systems and robotics program provides students with individualized paths tailored to their interests. The program includes foundational courses in robotics and artificial intelligence that address topics such as knowledge representation and reasoning, machine learning, computational methods in AI, basic hardware/software interaction and research methods.
“Through the program, I worked with great researchers who helped me understand the whole research environment better, and who gave help and guidance about the choices I should make for my future,” Rahgooy said. “The financial support of the program allowed me to fully focus on research without any distractions, and I was always supported and encouraged by the department to participate in prestigious conferences both for presenting my work and as an attendee. This accelerated my progress, which resulted in several publications and presentations.
“I feel really proud of what I’ve achieved and the kind of resume I was able to build in this program.”
Established in 2019, the program has grown to include 17 students from seven countries and 20 supervisors from IHMC and UWF’s departments of intelligent systems and robotics, computer science and earth and environmental sciences. Venable said the “cutting-edge” research portfolio of investigated topics includes human-machine teaming, vision, robotics, natural language processing, cybersecurity, machine learning, cognitive systems, multi-agent systems and marine environmental sensing.
“Our program allows the ‘mentor-student team’ to tailor the coursework and research portfolio to specific interests pursued by each team, following the European style for doctorates and freeing them from the academic constraints typically involved in the vast majority of AI and robotics graduate programs in the United States,” Venable said. “This level of personalization facilitates collaboration with industry and a project-driven style of research.”
Rahgooy earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and a master’s in artificial intelligence before beginning his doctoral studies in computer science at Tulane University.
His dissertation, titled “Machine Learning Guided by Linguistic and Behavioral Knowledge,” discusses the data-driven methods he’s developed for learning various cognitive models of decision-making, along with his work to expand into problems with sequential settings such as reinforcement learning.
Rahgooy said the next step in his career is finding research positions in the intelligent systems and robotics industry to continue his efforts.
“Working with Taher has been a true pleasure,” Venable said. “He is the ideal doctoral student, one to whom you throw an idea and he comes back with a paper. He features a rare combination of a theoretical clarity of thought and very strong algorithmic and coding skills. He has grown into a mature and independent expert in intelligent systems and I am looking forward to hearing about his future successes.”
International leader in human performance accepts leadership role at IHMC
Published 5.7.21
IHMCs Director and CEO Dr. Ken Ford announced that Dr. Morley O. Stone, the former senior vice president for research at the Ohio State University is joining the institute as Chief Strategic Partnership Officer.
Dr. Stone is recognized as an international leader in human performance and biomimetics with nearly 30 years of experience in research and development. At IHMC, he will assume a leadership role in developing external strategic relationships with federal agencies, research universities and the private sector as well as implementing, coordinating and initiating scientific projects and assisting and mentoring IHMC scientists and research staff.
As senior vice president for research, Dr. Stone oversaw an annual budget of over $1billion in basic and applied research while at Ohio State. Prior to OSU, Morley served as the Chief Technology Officer for the Air Force Research Laboratory where he was responsible for assisting with the planning and execution of an annual $2.1 billion Air Force science and technology program and an additional $2.3 billion in externally funded research and development. From 2003 to 2006, Dr. Stone accepted an assignment as Program Manager in the Defense Sciences Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Dr. Stone earned his PhD in biochemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and his research interests are broad spanning areas such as the interface of materials science, biotechnology, human performance, and autonomous systems. In addition to his research leadership, Dr. Stone is a recognized leader in government and higher education in addressing and preventing foreign influence in research and development.
IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System where researchers pioneer science and technology aimed at leveraging and extending human capabilities.
IHMC’s James Allen honored as one of nation’s top scientists
Published 11.24.20
IHMC Associate Director and Senior Research Scientist James Allen has been elected to the rank of AAAS Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

University of Rochester computer science professor James Allen in the computer studies building July 08, 2011. //photo: J. Adam Fenster/University of Rochester
Each year the association elects members whose efforts to advance science and its applications are considered distinguished and scientifically valid. AAAS specifically cited Allen for his “broad contributions to artificial intelligence and natural-language understanding, including seminal contributions in temporal logic.”
In addition to his work at IHMC, which he joined in 2006, Allen also has an appointment as the John H. Dessauer Professor of Computer Science at the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y.
Since earning his Ph.D. in computer science in 1979 from the University of Toronto and receiving the Presidential Young Investigator award from the National Science Foundation in 1984, Allen has built an international reputation as a leader in AI and collaborative human-machine interaction.
“This is such a well-deserved honor for James,” said IHMC Chief Executive Officer Ken Ford. “Throughout his career, James has been an AI thought leader. I, as well as the rest of James’ colleagues here at IHMC, are extremely happy for him.”
The designation of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. James’ official election as a Fellow will be honored at the association’s annual meeting, which this year, because of COVID-19, will be held virtually in February.
IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System where researchers pioneer technologies aimed at leveraging and extending human capabilities. For more information, visit ihmc.us.
IHMC podcast in the running for international award
Published 4.28.20
The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences announced this week that STEM-Talk has been nominated for the Webby Awards, an international competition recognizing internet excellence.
STEM-Talk, an educational service of the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), received nominations in the science and education podcast categories for the Webby Awards as well as the Webby People’s Voice Awards. Academy members select winners for the Webby Awards while the People’s Voice Awards are voted on by the public.
People have until May 7th to visit vote.webbyawards.com to cast their ballots.
As a Webby nominee, STEM-Talk has been singled out as one of the five best podcasts in the world in the science and education category. Last year, more than three million people from 230 countries cast ballots in the People’s Voice awards.
STEM-Talk won first place the past two out three years in the science and medicine category of the Annual People’s Choice Podcast Awards.
Ken Ford, IHMC’s co-founder and CEO, co-hosts the podcast with IHMC Research Scientist Dawn Kernagis. STEM-Talk, with more than 100 episodes, features conversations with some of the most interesting people in the world of science and has been downloaded by more than two million people since its launch in 2016. For more information on IHMC, visit www.ihmc.us.
STEM-Talk wins People’s Choice award for second time in three years
Published 10.23.19
For the second time in its three years in existence, IHMC’s podcast STEM-Talk has won first place in the science and medicine category at the 14th Annual People’s Choice Podcast Awards.
The international competition features thousands of nominees in more than 20 categories. According to Todd Cochrane, who founded the competition in 2005, People’s Choice recognizes the top podcasts in the world as nominated by listeners.
“The awards are truly independent and the shows that are nominated and win have significant bragging rights as being listener favorites,” said Cochrane.
STEM-Talk is nearing its 100th episode and also closing in on 2 million downloads. In 2017, STEM-Talk not only took home the top prize in the science and medicine category, but also was runner-up for the competition’s grand prize.
STEM-Talk bills itself as “conversations with some of the most interesting people in the world of science and technology.” The guests have ranged from Nobel Prize winners in physics to NASA Astronauts to numerous thought leaders in the medical sciences.
The podcast uploads to iTunes, Stitcher, Google, Overcast and other podcast apps twice a month.
IHMC CEO Dr. Ken Ford co-hosts the podcast with IHMC Research Scientist Dr. Dawn Kernagis. Senior Creative and Multimedia Specialist William Howell edits the podcast along with staff member Jordan Accardo. Communications Director Randy Hammer is the show’s producer.
Some of STEM-Talk’s more popular episodes include:
- Dr. Stuart Phillips, professor of kinesiology at McMaster University, who in episode 82 talked about his research into muscle health and dietary protein.
- Dr. Robert Epstein, a psychologist, journalist and former editor of Psychology Today, who talked about his academic career in behavioral sciences in episode 89 and also his most recent research into the invisible influence that technology companies, particularly Google, have on consumer and political behavior.
- Megan Roberts, the scientific director at Nourish Balance Thrive, who was featured in episode 92 and is best known for her 2017 paper in Cell Metabolism that showed a ketogenic diet extended the longevity and health span of adult mice.
To find these episode and others, visit ihmc.us/stemtalk.
IHMC and Andrews Research and Education Foundation announce partnership to conduct research projects
Published 6.17.19
Pensacola’s cutting-edge research center The Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC) and the Andrews Research & Education Foundation (AREF), the research arm of the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, have signed an agreement to collaborate on human-performance research.
“We’re really fortunate to have two world leaders in human-performance right here in our community,” said Ken Ford, co-founder and CEO of IHMC. “This partnership is going to leverage the work of both organizations for the benefit of sports medicine as well as programs geared toward improving the capabilities and resilience of astronauts, fighter pilots, divers and other elite members of our military.”
IHMC and AREF will share office and lab space at their Pensacola and Gulf Breeze facilities. The scientists and doctors will collaborate on research into areas ranging from optimizing physical and cognitive performance to developing technologies aimed at helping high-performing humans like professional athletes, astronauts and fighter pilots.
“People here at AREF are thrilled they’ll be able to work with IHMC in areas that will help us with neurosurgery, neuroscience, ophthalmology and, of course, sports medicine,” said Ashton Hayward, president of Andrews Research & Education Foundation.
IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute that has grown into one of the world’s premier research organizations. Its scientists and engineers investigate a broad range of scientific and technological topics with the goal of amplifying and extending human cognition, perception, locomotion and resilience. In particular, IHMC has been a leader in AI, robotics, and human performance in extreme environments. The Pensacola-headquartered research institute is part of the Florida University System with a branch in Ocala.
AREF is the research arm of the Andrews Institute, the nation’s premier orthopaedics and sports medicine center. Andrews Institute is part of Baptist Health Care and was founded by Dr. James Andrews, an orthopaedic surgeon known for treating knee, elbow and shoulder injuries as well as repairing damaged ligaments. He has helped treat injuries and revive the careers of numerous high-profile athletes such as Drew Brees, Bo Jackson, Roger Clemens, Jerry Pate, Jack Nicklaus, Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan.
Hayward, who spent eight years as mayor of Pensacola before joining AREF in January, said the mission is to help educate the public and further research into the areas of orthopaedics, human performance, injury prevention, technology as well as surgical and biomedical enhancement.
“Most people are aware of the clinical work we do with athletes,” said Hayward. “But it’s not as well known that we also do a lot of work with active-duty members of the special- operations community. We provide them physical therapy, performance training and nutritional support.”
It was this work with the special-operations community that particularly drew the interest of IHMC Research Scientist Dawn Kernagis.
“As we have expanded our research into biological ways to extend the capabilities and resilience of high-performing humans in the military, especially those who have to operate in extreme conditions, a partnership with AREF made perfect sense,” said Dr. Kernagis, who leads a dozen members of IHMC’s bio-medical team.
Immediate plans include IHMC and AREF personnel working together on current ongoing research projects as well as developing proposals for future projects and grants.
For more information on AREF visit: https://www.andrewsref.org
The most important, innovative company to open in Ocala in the past 20 years.
The February 2019 issue of Ocala Style has named IHMC as the most important, innovative company to open in Ocala in the past 20 years. You can read the article here, https://issuu.com/ocalastyle/docs/0219os_book/32
UWF partners with IHMC to develop first intelligent systems and robotics Ph.D. in Florida
Published 11.13.18
The University of West Florida has partnered with the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition located in downtown Pensacola to develop a doctoral program in intelligent systems and robotics. The program will be the first of its kind in Florida and one of only a few in the nation.
“We are very excited about this new doctoral degree program,” said UWF President Martha D. Saunders. “The program brings together the strengths of UWF engineering and computer science programs with the expertise of a world-class research center, IHMC. It’s a game changer.”
The new doctoral program aligns with the University’s strategic vision for research that impacts Northwest Florida’s economic development and technology enterprise. It will serve the manufacturing, health care, defense and other high-tech industries, providing critical support to high-demand career fields.
“I’ve envisioned a program like this for a long time,” said Ken Ford, director and co-founder of IHMC. “It will attract top young talent from the world. This is such a great move not only for UWF and IHMC, but also for Pensacola and the state.”According to a 2012 study by the National Robotics Initiative, robotics technology holds the potential to transform the future of the U.S. and is expected to become as ubiquitous over the next decades as computer technology is today. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook projects a 19 percent growth rate for computer and information technology research scientists over the next 10 years.
Drone program with City of Pensacola Police Department
Published 8.14.18
Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward and IHMC are pleased to announce an innovative partnership between IHMC and the City of Pensacola Police Department in the development of a comprehensive police drone program.
The program will incorporate specialized drones in police operations such as search and rescue, disaster response, fugitive evasion, threat situations and monitoring outdoor events.
“This is a wonderful program that is going make Pensacola a safer community,” said Hayward. “And because we have the expertise of IHMC here in our community, we also are going to be in a leadership role in terms of the use of these specialized drones in fighting crime and in helping to make our community a safer place.”
While off-the-shelf drones are available to law-enforcement agencies, many are not appropriate for critical government services such as police operations. Most drones also are unable to handle missions that operate in or around buildings.
IHMC has been developing technology for years that is well-suited to provide customized drones that can be effective tools for law enforcement needs. IHMC and the Pensacola Police Department also will work together to develop a training program on the use of these specialized drones.
Pensacola-based IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute that has grown into one of the nation’s premier research organizations with world-class scientists and engineers investigating a broad range of topics related to building technological systems aimed at amplifying and extending human cognition, perception, locomotion and resilience. The institute is part of the Florida University System and has a branch in Ocala.“Most people know about our work with robots and NASA and the various branches of the military” said Ken Ford, IHMC CEO. “But this is a great example of how the expertise of our scientists is being used right here in Pensacola for the benefit of our community.”
Levin Center for IHMC Research wins AIA Florida’s People’s Choice Award
Published 7.30.18
The Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects released the final results of its Florida People’s Choice competition this week and thanks to many of you, the Levin Center for IHMC Research came out on top. For the past several weeks we had sent out requests that asked people to go online and vote for the Levin Center in the AIA competition. We really appreciate that so many people did.
The 30,000-square-foot Levin Center was designed by the Pensacola firm Quina Grundhoefer and was built in 2016. We also owe a big thanks to Pensacola attorney Fred Levin, who donated $1 million to IHMC to help the institute complete the facility.
Carter Quina was the lead architect on the project and had a great quote after he heard the news about the People’s Choice Award. “As architects, we of course like it when our peers evaluate our work and recognize us. But to have your design receive recognition from everyday people is even more special. If people love what we’ve designed, then we’ve done our job. This is really a great honor for us and Pensacola.”
Here is AIA Florid’s press release
Ewers donate $500,000 to IHMC
Published 6.21.18
Ron and Phyllis Ewers have donated $500,000 to the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, a gift that will allow the research center to make some needed improvements to its glass-enclosed building in downtown Ocala.
IHMC’s Ocala facility was once the home of Marion County’s main branch of its public-library system. Built in the 1960s, the building’s futuristic look became a focal point of Ocala’s downtown. In 2009, the then vacant facility fell into the hands of IHMC, a not-for-profit research institute that is part of the Florida University System with branches in Ocala and Pensacola.
“I was so glad to see IHMC move into the building,” said Ewers, who moved to Ocala in the 1970s and serves on the institute’s board of directors. “The building and the work that goes on at the institute has really become one of Ocala’s jewels.”
One of the distinctive features of the building is the skylight in the center of the roof. But after 60 years, the glass in the skylight has taken on a smoky look.
“Thanks to this gift, we will be able to replace the roof and skylight,” said Laurie Zink, development and community outreach director for the Ocala operation. “We will be able to make other improvements to the building as well. We are so fortunate to have people in our community like Ron and Phyllis.”
Ewers is president of Ewers Consulting in Ocala and has been part owner of a number of companies, including Classic Fire, which is known for its innovations in fire-fighting equipment. Before that, he was president of E-One, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of fire trucks and equipment.
Over the years, Ewers and his wife have also helped fund IHMC’s outreach programs, which range from an evening lecture series to Science Saturdays, a hands-on science program for third-, fourth- and fifth-graders.
“It has just been such a privilege to be on IHMC’s board,” said Ewers. “The institute really has been a great addition to Ocala.”
Studers Donate $1 Million to Further IHMC New Initiatives
Published 4.17.18
Quint and Rishy Studer have generously donated $1 million to the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. Studer said the gift to IHMC was a natural step for him and his wife, Rishy.
“When I taught special education, the whole goal was to maximize a person’s capabilities. When we formed the Studer Group, it was the same thing…our mission was about maximizing human potential. And that’s what the Studer Community Institute and EntreCon and CivicCon are also about. So, when you look at what IHMC does, it also strives to maximize people’s human potential. That’s why this gift just feels like a natural stair step for Rishy and me.”
IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute that has grown into one of the nation’s premier research organizations with world-class scientists and engineers investigating a broad range of topics related to building technological systems aimed at amplifying and extending human cognition, perception, locomotion and resilience. The institute is part of the Florida University System and is based in Pensacola with a branch in Ocala.
“Quint told us we could use the gift for anything we want, which was great,” said IHMC co-founder and CEO Ken Ford. “But when I brought up the work we’re doing in human performance, which is a relatively new area for us, he seemed to really like the idea of helping us expand our research into this area.”
Much of the IHMC’s work in human performance is focused on humans in extreme environments, such as space, undersea, and high-performance military aircraft. Ford is assembling a cadre of top researchers to employ science and technology to first understand the hazards associated with humans in extreme environments and then to build systems to mitigate those risks.
“The military aircraft is an extreme environment. Astronauts are continuously placed in ridiculously extreme environments. And military divers also face extreme conditions,” said Ford. “Most of the communities we serve are outliers in the human species. These are high-performing humans who are regularly subjected to hazardous environments, and we want to understand the nature of the hazard and how the hazard might be mitigated.”
Studer said he and his wife have long been admirers of Ford and the institute. “I strongly believe you don’t bet on the what…you bet on the who. So, when you look at IHMC over the years, they’ve had solid leadership and world-class scientists. So Rishy and I are investing in the who…the people at IHMC, not the building and not even the science. We’re investing in the who, the people of IHMC.”
Airport display showcases IHMC Research
Published 11.2.17
The next time you’re passing through the Pensacola International Airport, be sure to check out the IHMC research display. Several IHMC robots, including the M2V2 humanoid, Spring Flamingo, Mina Exoskeleton, and tBot, will be on display at the airport on a rotating basis.
The display case is located at the main entrance of the airport next to the escalator. There is a monitor above the display case that highlights many areas of IHMC’s research. Brix Design in downtown Pensacola designed and fabricated the acrylic case that houses the robots.
The current robot in the display is M2V2, developed by IHMC in collaboration with the MIT Leg Laboratory, Yobotics, Bucknell University, Delft University of Technology, University of Michigan, and Honda Research Institute. It will be featured until the Spring of 2018.
The next robot on display will be the NASA-IHMC X1 Mina Exoskeleton, a robotic device developed for mobility assistance for abled and disabled users. We also will continue to update the video feed on the monitor to showcase new IHMC research.
Please let us know your thoughts as you view this display and be sure to tell friends to stop by next time they are at the airport.