image: Géza Kogler view more
Credit: Kennesaw State University
The new program was developed by associate professor of prosthetics and orthotics Géza Kogler who helped establish the Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics program in the Wellstar College of Health and Human Services at Kennesaw State. Kogler credited associate professor of mechanical engineering technology Turaj Ashuri and former professor of electrical engineering Bill Diong for connecting the grant to the Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology.
Participants will be immersed in the clinical realm of orthotics, prosthetics and rehabilitation. Students will work in clinical settings, receive faculty mentoring, complete a capstone project, and work on an interdisciplinary research team, as well as interact with people who use assistive technology.
“Over a four-year period, we will recruit underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities, women and economically- and socially-disadvantaged students, and expose them to spheres of engineering and clinical discovery,” Kogler said.
The Kennesaw State program connects with the NIH’s ESTEEMED (Enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Educational Diversity) program, which seeks to “support educational activities that enhance the diversity of the biomedical research workforce through early preparation for undergraduate students in STEM fields,” specifically bioengineering. Kogler has named the program the BRITE project (Bioengineering Research and Interdisciplinary Training—ESTEEMED).
Students involved in BRITE will have their tuition paid for their first two years, then will enter the KSU Journey Honors College for their final two years, where they will have access to other sources of funding. They’ll also receive stipends for summer work through the program.
The program addresses points of emphasis at Kennesaw State, most prominently interdisciplinary studies and pathways to graduate degree programs.
“Especially with bioengineering, you're looking at a very interdisciplinary field that takes in math, physics, biology and engineering,” Kogler said. “A student might develop expertise in a certain aspect of engineering or science and they’re applying those skills in a space that could be clinically valuable, or it could be on the research side to solve a problem.”
The grant was awarded in early July, and the program will start with its inaugural group of eight students for the Fall 2023 semester. In each of the next three years, BRITE will admit another eight students for a total of 32 in the program.
“Normally a grant has a massive impact for a lab, but this one will affect the entire university on both campuses,” he said. “So the tentacles of this grant have an extended reach, and it's not very often you get an opportunity to connect students and faculty in such a transformative way.”