Dr. Michael West Jr., PhD | MIT
A. Michael West Jr., originally from Rancho Cucamonga, CA, is a sixth-year PhD Candidate in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research seeks to better control algorithms for robots involved in rehabilitation, and dexterous manipulation. He has investigated human upper-limb motor control and human hand manipulation during tool-use and physical interaction. By introducing new methods of analyzing human motor control and exploiting old methods on new experimental paradigms, his work leads to new insights on human motor control and perception. For his work, he has been awarded the MIT OGE Diversity Fellowship, UCEM Sloan Scholarship, GEM University Associate Fellowship, Ford Foundation Fellowship, Ben Gold Fellowship, Takeda Fellowship, and Accenture Fellowship.
Throughout his career, A. Michael West Jr. has been a passionate volunteer and mentor for students from underrepresented backgrounds through his work in STEM teaching and mentoring programs. This includes but is not limited to his previous positions as President of the National Society of Black Engineers Yale Chapter, Treasurer of the Academy of Courageous Minority Engineers at MIT, Treasurer of the Black Graduate Student Association at MIT, Pod Leader for the MIT Summer Research Program, and Graduate Diversity Ambassador at MIT. In his free time, Michael enjoys playing sports, video games, card/board games, watching movies and television. In the future, Michael hopes to continue to support and guide students of all backgrounds, especially those underrepresented, towards STEM fields, as a tenure-track professor.
Research Interests: Controls, Robotics, Rehabilitation, Dexterous Manipulation, Human Motor Control, Biomechanics, Physical Interaction, Sport