Hi! I'm Jacob. I live in Boulder, Colorado with my wife Carrie and two sons, Noah and Ari. This is my CV. This is our backyard.
Work.
Currently, I am a Teaching Faculty member in the the Engineering Plus program at the University of Colorado Boulder. I implement research-based pedagogical techniques like inquiry-based laboratory sessions, peer teaching, and design rich coursework.
I am a Research Healthcare Scientist for the Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development service. I won a Career Development Award - 1 to develop a closed loop prosthetic limb system in collaboration with Dr. Dustin Tyler at Case Western Reserve University.
I finished my doctorate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder in May 2014. My research focused on neural interfaces and prosthetic limb control, and my dissertation title was Development and Validation of a Postural Controller for Advanced Myoelectric Prosthetic Hands with Professor Richard Weir.
I work as a consultant on a variety of projects. Currently, I am an Engineering Education Specialist for SparkFun Electronics. I am writing and piloting custom high school and collegiate design curriculum in and around Boulder, Colorado. Previously, I designed and fabricated the shoulder and humeral rotator for the Otto Bock 7-Degree of Freedom Research Arm as the chief mechanical engineer for Weir Technologies, Inc. I produced statistical models of social media traffic as a data scientist for the Next Big Sound, Inc. Also during my doctorate, I taught several undergraduate classes as the instructor of record. First Year Projects (GEEN 1400) was a 30 student introduction to design class for freshman in the College of Engineering. Measurements Lab 2 (MCEN 4047) was a 52 student experimental design class for seniors in Mechanical Engineering.
I worked as a Research Engineer at the Rehabilitation Instititute of Chicago in the Center for Bionic Medicine for Professor Todd Kuiken. I was a mechanical designer for the DARPA Revolutionizing Prosthetics Project 2009 on the 2-Motor Finger team. Also, I was the chief mechanical engineer on the University of New Brunswick Multi-function Prosthetic Hand Project.
Education.
Doctor of Philosophy Department of Mechanical Engineering | University of Colorado Boulder
Master of Science, Bioengineering Concentration Department of Mechanical Engineering | University of Colorado Boulder
Bachelor of Science with Honors, Minors in Mathematics and Bioengineering Department of Mechanical Engineering | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign