Georgia Tech Debuts World's First PhD Program in Prosthetics and Orthotics
The School of Applied Physiology at the Georgia Institute of Technology  has announced the introduction of the world's first O&P PhD program. The PhD in Applied Physiology, Focus in Prosthetics and Orthotics program, will prepare students to become leading-edge academicians and research investigators in general rehabilitation medicine and specifically in orthotics and prosthetics.  ( full story... )

EAS Grad Student Terry Lathem's High-Flying Research
The Gainesville Times - June 20   Terry Lathem grew up  camping, hiking and otherwise spending time close to nature.  These days, the 24-year-old  PhD student's activities are anything but earthbound.   ( full story...  )

The Robot Designed to Master Mars
Discover Magazine - June 4  The Mars rover Opportunity idled in a Martian sand dune for 39 long days, trapped with its wheels mostly covered. Only after very gradually working its way out of the sand could the rover move on.  Now advances in robots capable of navigating waves of sand may make concerns of alien dust storms or sand traps a thing of the past.  Built at the University of Pennsylvania and tested at the Georgia Institute of Technology under team leader Daniel Goldman, SandBot is a six-legged robot with curved, C-shaped limbs instead of wheels. SandBot’s limbs spin around like regular wheels but slow down briefly when they strike the ground, allowing it to scoot along loose sand at up to three centimeters per second.  ( full story... | Daniel Goldman )

Computer Predicts Anti-Cancer Molecules
UPI - June 17  Scientists have created a computerized method of analyzing cellular activity that correctly predicts the anti-tumor activity of several molecules.  Researchers Jeffrey Skolnick and John McDonald led a Georgia Institute of Technology team in developing the tool, called CoMet, that studies the integrated machinery of the cell, predicting which components can have an effect on cancer.  "This opens up the possibility of novel therapeutics for cancer and develops our understanding of why such metabolites work," said Skolnick. ( full story...  | Jeff Skolnick | John McDonald )