Senior Bradford Lapsansky has been awarded a Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for the academic year.

The SMART Scholarship for Service Program was established by the Department of Defense (DOD) to support undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines with the goal of increasing the number of civilian scientists and engineers working at DOD laboratories. Awardees receive a full scholarship and are employed upon degree completion at a DOD research facility.

Following graduation, Bradford will work for the U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground's Communications-Electronics Center of the Research, Development and Engineering Command in Maryland.

Congratulations, Bradford!

With support from Zachary Simmons, director of the ALS Clinic at Hershey Medical Center, and Steven Schiff, Brush Chair Professor of Engineering, graduate student Andrew Geronimo is advancing brain technology and its possibilities for people living with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) and others who have lost voluntary motor control.

The technology is called Brain Computer Interface (BCI) and it works with an EEG cap to process information about the brain that has been recorded through the scalp. If successful, users would be able to control computer programs using their mind. Andrew has been working on the BCI project for three years, primarily testing the technology with college students, but has begun a new phase of research involving ALS patients. Andrew is measuring the impact of cognition and genetics, among other factors, on BCI and how the technology can be used for communication and daily living.

Andrew was interviewed about his work by the ALS Association's Greater Philadelphia Chapter and featured in a blog post on the chapter's website.

To learn more about Penn State's Center for Neural Engineering click here.