Draper Researcher Studying Neurological Disorders Chosen to Attend Conference for Elite Young Engineers

CAMBRIDGE, MA – Nirmal Keshava, a Draper Laboratory engineer working to address brain injury and soldier health issues, has been chosen with a group of the brightest young U.S. engineers to attend the U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium at Google headquarters from September 19-21. The symposium is sponsored by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

The NAE’s website describes the 17th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium as a three-day event for engineers ages 30 to 45 who are “performing exceptional engineering research and technical work in industry, academia, and government.” Attendees were nominated by fellow engineers or organizations and chosen from a pool of more than 300 applicants.

The conference is intended to facilitate collaboration in engineering as well as transfer of new techniques and approaches across fields among the next generation of engineering leaders.

Keshava is an expert in signal and image processing and has worked on multi-disciplinary topics, including identifying biomarkers using neuroimaging, extracting estimates of cognitive states from multi-modal physiology, as well as the fusion of information from different sources for improved decision-making. This work is being applied to the problems including diagnosing traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), quantitatively measuring pain, and understanding how interviews can more efficiently elicit information.

“The young engineering innovators of today are solving the grand challenges that face us in the coming century,” said NAE President Charles Vest. “We are proud that our Frontiers of Engineering program brings this diverse group of people together and gives them an opportunity to share and showcase their work.”

The forum will involve lectures and break-out sessions focusing on topics including neuroprosthetics, an important component towards integrating engineering approaches with advances in neuroscience.

Additional information about Frontiers of Engineering is available at www.naefrontiers.org.