Opportunity Details

Details about the opportunity you selected and the mentor are shown below. It is your responsibility to contact the mentor to discuss collaborating with them this summer. If your mentor invites you to submit an application, you can access that from the front page of this site. Upon completion of the application, it will be sent to the mentor for approval before being passed on to the Summer Scholar Selection Committee, which will make the decisions.

Faculty Information

Robert White

r.white@tufts.edu

Assistant Professor

P: (617) 627-2210

Address:

200 College Ave

Medford, MA 02155

Affiliated Institutions:

Engineering

Associated Departments:

Mechanical Engineering

Web Sites:

http://www.tufts.edu/~rwhite07/

Opportunity:

Active Cochlear Model

Summary:

Build an active hydromechanical scale model of the cochlea. This work will build off of previous work in Prof. White’s lab to develop a passive scale model. The summer scholar's contribution will be the incorporation of sensors, actuators, and feedback electronics into the structure. Active mechanics are critical to the biological organ, but have never been demonstrated in a hydromechanical benchtop model. Such a model will allow us to investigate different active control laws that may be present in nature, and to determine the effects of damage or disease on the mechanics of the organ.

Contact Via:

E-mail
Phone

What is the timeframe for this research opportunity?

June 1 - August 15, 2009

Prerequisities for students?

Introductory mechanics, electronics, and mathematics.

Responsibilities for students?

Mathematical modeling, hardware selection and purchasing, mechanical and laboratory testing, programming.

Area(s) of Research:

Biomechanics

Electromechanical systems

Vibrations

Controls