A $1,000 scholarship has been awarded to Bingjie Zhou, a doctoral mechanical engineering student at Villanova University. Zhou’s commendable research is focused on helping stroke victims to recover quickly via biomimicry. She is working to design a device that provides targeted physical therapy for stroke patients. This device will also be used for the rehabilitation and quicker recovery of athletes.
This project is inspired by a wide range of biological phenomena, particularly the squeezing flow through the articular trabeculae in knee joint lubrication. Zhou is collaborating with experts in fluid mechanics, material sciences and advanced manufacturing to design, construct and test the novel biomimetic device. Additionally,
she is applying ML techniques to implement data analytics for testing the device with athletes. The results will provide insights for product improvement and large-scale manufacturing.
Zhou’s colleagues and advisor say that she consistently demonstrates creative thinking, dedicated work and responsibility in her research projects. They also say that she is very passionate about scientific research and a pleasure to work with.