Education

Northwestern University Evanston, IL

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, December 2009
Thesis title: Robotic Intervention for People with Stiff-Knee Gait after Stroke

Northwestern University Evanston, IL

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, April 2006
Thesis title: Moment Arm Manipulation of a Cable-Driven Joint

The Ohio State University Columbus, OH

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, summa cum laude with distinction, December 2002
Thesis title: Simulating Head Trauma using MADYMO

Back to Top »

Research Experience

Rehabilitation Engineering Lab at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) (2009 - present)

  • Investigating the utility of targeted plasticity in chronic stroke survivors to improve hand function.
  • Advisor: Roger Gassert
  • Funded by the ETH Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (2009-2011)

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Laboratory for Intelligent Mechanical Systems , Northwestern University (2006 to 2009)

  • Explored the effects of knee flexion torque assistance during gait in people with Stiff-Knee Gait after Stroke
  • Designed and constructed novel, lightweight knee actuator, and used it for experiments at RIC
  • Advisors: James L. Patton (RIC) and Michael A. Peshkin (LIMS)
  • Funded by American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship (2006-08) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Predoctoral Fellowship (2008-09)

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Laboratory for Intelligent Mechanical Systems, Northwestern University (2004 to 2006)

  • Designed and built an exotendon-driven robot for exerting joint torque known as MARIONET (Moment arm Adjustment for Remote Induction Of Net Effective Torque)
  • Applications of this Masters project include rehabilitation and assistive devices
  • Advisors: James L. Patton (RIC) and Michael A. Peshkin (LIMS)
  • Funded by the Walter P. Murphy Grant (2004) and the National Institutes of Health Training Grant (2004-2006)

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (Summer 2003)

  • Intern for Dr. Li Qun Zhang in the Biodynamics Laboratory .
  • Modified double actuated arm stretcher and developed control algorithm

Dennis Guenther Lab , The Ohio State University (2002)

  • Used a dynamic modeling program, MADYMO, to model head trauma

John Deere The Ohio State University (Autumn 2001 - Spring 2002)

  • Worked in a team to develop novel methods of measuring air entrainment in hydraulic fluid

Peter Reiser Lab , The Ohio State University (Winter 2001 - Spring 2001)

  • Carried out experiments analyzing ADP hydrolysis in avian skeletal muscle fibers

Back to Top »

Publications

Journal Publications

  • Sulzer, J S, K E Gordon, Y Y Dhaher, M A Peshkin, J L Patton. Pre-swing knee flexion assistance is coupled with hip abduction in people with Stiff-Knee gait after stroke. Stroke. August 2010 in press.
  • Sulzer, J S, R A Roiz, M A Peshkin, J L Patton. A highly backdrivable, lightweight knee actuator for investigating gait in stroke. IEEE Transactions on Robotics. vol. 25, no. 3. pp. 539-548. 2009.
  • Sulzer, J S, M A Peshkin, J L Patton. Pulling Your Strings. IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine. vol. 15, no. 3. pp. 70-78. 2008.

Peer-Reviewed Conference Proceedings

  • Sulzer, J S, K E Gordon, T G Hornby, M A Peshkin, J L Patton. Adaptation to Knee Flexion Torque During Gait Proc. Int. Conf. on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR), Kyoto, Japan. 2009.
  • Sulzer, J S, M A Peshkin, J L Patton. Design of a Mobile, Inexpensive Device for Upper Extremity Rehabilitation at Home. Proc. Int. Conf. on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR), Noordwijk, Netherlands, 2007.
  • Sulzer J, A Salamat, V S Chib, and J E Colgate. A Behavioral Adaptation Approach to Identifying Visual Dependence of Haptic Perception. Second Joint Eurohaptics Conference and Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems. Tsukuba, Japan. March, 2007.
  • Sulzer J, M A Peshkin and J L Patton. Catastrophe and Stability Analysis of a Cable-driven Joint. IEEE International Conference of Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. New York, NY. August, 2006.
  • Sulzer J, S-B Kamalakkannan, D R Morr, J Wiechel, B Tanner and D Guenther. Simplifed MADYMO Model of the IHRA Head-form Impactor. Proc. SAE Int. Conf. on Digital Human Modeling. Lyon, France July 2006.
  • Sulzer JS, MA Peshkin, JL Patton. MARIONET: An exotendon-driven Series Elastic Actuator for exerting joint torque. Proc. Int. Conf. on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR). Chicago, IL June 2005.

Theses

  • James S. Sulzer, "Robotic Intervention for People with Stiff-Knee Gait after Stroke". (PhD thesis, Northwestern University, 2009)
  • James S. Sulzer, "Moment Arm Manipulation of a Cable-Driven Joint". (MS thesis, Northwestern University, 2006)

Back to Top »

Awards, Grants and Honors

  • ETH Postdoctoral Fellowship Award 2009-2011
  • Baskin Research Award 2009
  • Northwestern University Cabell Terminal Year Fellowship Award 2008-2009
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Predoctoral Award 2008-2009
  • American Heart Association Predoctoral Award 2006-2008
  • Baskin Research Award 2006
  • 2006 da Vinci Award for team project design of the NUberwalker, a body-weight support treadmill for home use

Back to Top »

Patents

  • Cable-driven Moment Arm Manipulation. Patton, J. L., Peshkin, M. A. and Sulzer, J. S. Patent Pending

Back to Top »

Teaching Experience

  • Substitute Teacher, Chicago Public Schools, March 2009. Substitute for high school science classes.
  • Teaching Assistant, Northwestern University Spring 2006 Developed, graded and helped students with homework assignments and midterms
  • Client for EDC, Northwestern University Spring 2006 Helped guide freshmen undergraduate engineers to create a car transfer mechanism for people with neuromuscular difficulty
  • Grader, Northwestern University, Winter 2006 Grader for Dynamics
  • Organizer, Northwestern University, Winter 2005 Led and created a new course (Optimal Controls) under supervision of Dr. Randy Freeman
  • Tutor, Lakeview High School, Chicago 2004-05 Tutored students weekly in math and science
  • Grader, Ohio State University, Autumn 2002 Grader for Fluid Mechanics
  • Tutor, Indian Springs Elementary School, Columbus 2000-01 Tutored a student weekly in reading

Back to Top »

Leadership Experience

  • Co-president, InNUvation, 2006-07 Led multi-disciplinary entrepreneurial interest group
  • Vice President, InNUvation, 2005-06 Served as Engineering representative to the interdisciplinary student-run entrepreneurial interest group at Northwestern
  • Co-founder, The Automata, 2005 Organized a city-wide event to bring together engineers and artists
  • Founder of Yoga and Meditation interest group, Columbus 2000-02 Created and led yoga and meditation for hundreds of students and residents in Columbus
  • Philanthropy Chair, Tau Beta Pi, Ohio State University 2001-02. Organized numerous volunteer activities for engineering honorary
  • Student Board Member, Hillel, Ohio State University 2001-02
  • Founder of Israel Action Committee, Columbus 2000 Created and led fund drive to bring Israeli citizens to America and share their experiences
  • Social Chair, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Ohio State University 1999-00. Organized social events for fraternity

Back to Top »

Industrial Experience

Nottingham-Spirk Design Associates Cleveland, OH (Summer 2002)

  • Intern at consumer product development firm
  • Involved in both testing and design of products

Sargent & Lundy, LLC Chicago, IL (Summer 2001)

  • Intern for international power plant design firm
  • Modified piping and instrumentation diagrams using Microstation

Alcoa Cleveland, OH (Summer 1999, 2000, Winter 2000)

  • Intern at wheel forging facility
  • Designed safety equipment, updated drawings, and supervised small construction projects

Back to Top »

Relevant Press Releases

  • Brown, J T and A C Kant. "Creating Bioentrepreneurs: The Role of Graduate Student Organizations in Fostering Science Entrepreneurship". Journal of Commercial Biotechnology vol 15. pp. 125 - 135 (2009). Journal article featuring InNUvation.
  • NUvention Introductory Video
  • "From Students to Innovators" , McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Magazine, Spring 2008
  • "Medical startups - for credit" in Crain's Chicago Business, Sept. 3, 2007. (Article about NUvention - Medical Innovation)
  • Spike O'Dell Radio Show, WGN 720 AM, May 22, 2007 (Interview for NU Venture Challenge)

Back to Top »

Conferences and Workshops Attended

  • International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, Kyoto, Japan June 2009.
  • Dutch Biomedical Engineering Conference (BME2009), Egmond an Zee, Netherlands, January 2009.
  • Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting 2008, Washington, DC
  • North American Congress on Biomechanics (NACOB), Ann Arbor, Michigan, August 2008.
  • International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, Noorwijk, Netherlands, June 2007.
  • Second Joint Eurohaptics Conference and Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems, Tsukuba, Japan, March 2007.
  • IEEE International Conference of Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS), New York, August 2006.
  • Society of Automotive Engineers Conference on Digital Human Modeling, Lyon, France, July 2006
  • State of the Science Workshop on Stroke, La Jolla, CA, March 2006
  • International School of Robotics Science (ISRS), Tokyo, Japan 2005
  • International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR), Chicago, IL, June 2005

Back to Top »