Helen Huang was recently selected as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow for the Class of 2023. Huang was elevated to Fellow for her contributions in control development to rehabilitation robotics.
Huang is a Jackson Family Distinguished Professor within the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University, Director of the Closed-Loop Engineering for Advanced Rehabilitation (CLEAR) Core, and she leads the Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory (NREL) based at NC State University (pictured left). Her research focus is on the symbiotic relationship between humans and wearable assistive machines in order to augment motor function for individuals with disabilities. Ultimately, Huang’s goal is to create breakthroughs in human-machine symbiotic (HMS) systems that empower disabled people to lead more active and productive lives.
According to the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Fellow is a distinction reserved for members whose extraordinary accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest are deemed fitting for this elevation. The number of IEEE Fellows elevated in a year is no more than 0.1% of the membership, which speaks to Huang’s academic accomplishments.
At NREL (pictured right), Huang guides the lab’s mission of investigating physical interactions between humans and robotic devices to improve the quality of life in persons with physical disabilities. Researchers at NREL apply assistive technologies to prosthetics, exoskeletons, computers and other assistive machines. Within CLEAR Core, Huang similarly investigates human-machine interactions but does this in a cross-disciplinary, cross-departmental and interinstitutional environment in order to enhance the physical ability, performance and experiences of people with disabilities.
Huang received her Bachelor of Science from Xi’an Jiaotong University and her Master of Science and Ph.D. from Arizona State University. She joins the department’s most recent IEEE Fellow, Paul Dayton, Department Chair, to the joint program.