The team at Human Fusions Institute is made up of a diverse group of people selected from different disciplines, cultures, and backgrounds. Backed up by Case Western Reserve University’s 50+ years of expertise in neural engineering, they are dedicated to translationally-focused research that advances the connections between humans and technology, with the ultimate goal to improve peoples’ lives.
These are the profiles of the people who are at the heart of HFI.
Core HFI Faculty
Eileen Anderson, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Associate Professor Bioethics Department
Mark Aulisio, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Susan E. Watson Professor and Chair, Department of Bioethics, School of Medicine
Jonathan Baskin, MD
Case Western Reserve University
Associate Professor Surgeon, Biotechnology Translation & Healthcare Applications
Tim Beal, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Florence Harkness Professor of Religion, Department of Religious Studies; Director of h.lab
Alexis E. Block, Dr. sc.
Case Western Reserve University
Assistant Professor of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ECSE) Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (EMAE) (by courtesy)
Hamid Charkhkar, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case School of Engineering
Zonghe Chua, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Assistant Professor, Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering
Kathryn Daltorio, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Associate Professor Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Co-Director, Biologically-Inspired Robotics Lab
BJ Fletcher, PhD
Cleveland State University
Assistant Professor, School of Public Management and Policy
Shannon French, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Director and Inamori Professor in Ethics Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence Professor Department of Philosophy College of Arts and Sciences Professor School of Law
Michael Fu, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Human Interface and Virtual Reality Timothy E. and Allison L. Shroeder Assistant Professor in Computer and Data Sciences Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering
Emily Graczyk, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Human Interface, Sensory Perception and Affective Touch Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Hossein Miri Lavasani, PhD, MS, BS
Case Western Reserve University
Assistant Professor Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Pedram Mohseni, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
HFI Sensors & Circuits Department Chair, Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering Goodrich Professor of Engineering Innovation Professor, Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering
Luke Osborn, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Zach Patterson, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (EMAE)
Soumya Ray, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Associate Professor Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Case School of Engineering
Doug Wajda, PhD
Cleveland State University
Assistant Professor, Health and Human Performance Department, College of Education
An Wang, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer and Data Sciences, School of Engineering
Leadership
Dustin Tyler, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Director, Human Fusions Institute
Arthur S. Holden Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case School of Engineering School of Medicine
Mark Mykleby
Case Western Reserve University
Executive Director, Human Fusions Institute
Colonel, United States Marine Corps (Ret)
Nicholas Zingale, PhD
Cleveland State University
Associate Professor Ph.D. Director, School of Urban Affairs
Veronica Santos, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles
Robotic and Mechanical Systems Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Affiliate Faculty, Department of Bioengineering Director of the UCLA Biomechatronics Laboratory
Bob Michaels
Case Western Reserve University
Director of Operations, Human Fusions Institute
Advisory Board
Christopher Fisher
Managing Director for GPO Fund
Technology venture investor with demonstrated operational experience leading diverse global teams to create and execute powerful strategies for leveraging information to win.
Michael G Hess
Leidos Vice President, Account Executive – Civil Space
Hess leverages over three decades of leadership and technical expertise in aerospace and human spaceflight, specializing in program management, operational excellence, and fostering
partnerships across government, academia, and industry.
Ganesh Kumar, DBA
Qualified Risk Director®
Public company COO, CFO, CRO, and board director providing strategic guidance on growth, transformation, and operational efficiency.
Tom Zucker
President and Founder, EdgePoint Capital
A seasoned entrepreneur and M&A Advisor with over 30 years of diverse experiences.
Partners
Human Interface
Robotics
Human Experience and Societal Impact
Administration and Staff
Jeremy Dunning
Case Western Reserve University
Biomedical Engineer
Mackenzie Elmer
Case Western Reserve University
Lab Manager
Emily Imka
Case Western Reserve University
Graphic Designer
Joris Lambrecht
Case Western Reserve University
Biomedical Engineer
Simonetta Quartell
Case Western Reserve University
Department Assistant
Mahanthesh Ramchandra
Case Western Reserve University
Network Engineer
Susan Schramfield
Case Western Reserve University
Research Engineer
Dustin Tyler Students
Rachel Jakes
Case Western Reserve University, Biomedical Engineering
Rachel uses peripheral nerve stimulation to provide the sense of touch across realities.
Laura McGann
Case Western Reserve University, Biomedical Engineering
Laura studies user experience in immersive, haptic-enabled human-in-the-loop systems.
Vlad Marcu
Case Western Reserve University, Biomedical Engineering
Vlad studies optimizing nerve stimulation selectivity using multipolar electrical stimulation.
Margaux Randolph
Case Western Reserve University, Neuroengineering
Margaux’s research is focused on preclinical peripheral nerve interface development for applications…
Michael Rinderle
Case Western Reserve University, Neuroscience & Humanity and Technology
Michael’s research interests include embodiment, user experiences, and ethics of human enhancement technologies.
Leah Marie Roldan
Case Western Reserve University, Neuroengineering
Leah’s research is focused on evaluating how multiple perception points are integrated and perceived…
Alexis E. Block Students
Debra Boutom
Case Western Reserve University
Andrew Chen
Case Western Reserve University, Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Research interests: Signal Processing, Computer Vision, and Firmware
Ju-Hung Chen
Case Western Reserve University, Electrical Engineering
Research interests: Human-robot Interaction, Mechanical Design
Current Project: Compliant Gripper
Zane Greene
Case Western Reserve University
Jacob Hyman
Case Western Reserve University, Electrical Engineering
Research interests: Electrical Engineering, Logic Design, and sensing.
Ashraf Ibraheem
Case Western Reserve University, Computer Science & Computer Engineering
Embedded Systems & Computer Vision
Sahar Kapasi
Case Western Reserve University
Andrew Ke
Case Western Reserve University
Kaleb Kim
Case Western Reserve University, Computer Science
Research interests: Computer vision and energy
Alice Liu
Case Western Reserve University, Cognitive Science & Computer Science
Human-robot interaction, human factors, affective computing, and design.
Jacob Ma
Case Western Reserve University
Noah Medrano
Case Western Reserve University, Computer Science & Integrated Humanities, Science, and Technology
Research interests: Affective computing and social robotics
Mauricio Negron
Case Western Reserve University, Electrical Engineering
Research interests: Process Automation, controls, and robotics
Honors and awards: Academic Excellence Recognition (2024), Don Quixote Award by Liga Nacional de Oratoria de Puerto Rico (2022)
Phurinat “Chester” Pinyomit
Case Western Reserve University, Smart Materials Technology & Robotics and AI
Research interests: Human-robot Interaction, Mobile Robotics
Daniel Soriano Ponce
Case Western Reserve University
Eve Spiro
Case Western Reserve University
Krupa Venkatesan
Case Western Reserve University
Austin Wilson
Case Western Reserve University, Computer Engineering
Austin’s research focuses on human-computer interactions.
Eric Yang
Case Western Reserve University
Luke Osborn Student
Oranatt Chaichanasittikarn
Case Western Reserve University, Biomedical Engineering
Oranatt’s research focuses on investigating neurophysiological mechanisms of multi-sensory feedback to enhance prosthetic embodiment and user integration.
Zach Patterson Student
Huy Pham
Case Western Reserve University, Mechanical Engineering
My research focuses on applying control theory and machine learning to the control of robotic systems.
Veronica Santos Students
Ben Forbes
UCLA, Mechanical Engineering
Ben’s research explores shared autonomy algorithms for teleoperation and robust tactile sensors for underwater use.
Evan Harber
UCLA, Robotics
Evan’s research pursuits thus far have revolved around three key concepts: tactile sensing, deformable, object modeling, and robotic motion planning.
Jimmy Penaloza
UCLA, Robotics
Jimmy studies tactile and proximity sensing for safe human-robot interactions
Cole Ten
UCLA
Cole studies underwater tactile sensor skins and tactile sensor data for haptic displays
Mumbi Whidby
UCLA, Mechanical Engineering
Mumbi is studying design robotics and manufacturing
Nick Zingale Students
Claire Foley
Cleveland State, Urban Studies and Public Affairs
Claire is a NSF Research Traineeship Fellow in the Center for Human Machine Systems.
Kelleigh Pettigrew
Cleveland State, Public Administration and Urban Studies
Emily Graczyk Students
Rohit Bose, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Postdoc Scholar
Russell Hardesty, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Postdoc Scholar
Jonah Mudge
Case Western Reserve University, Biomedical Engineering
Jonah’s research focuses on restoring proprioception, the body’s sensation of limb position and move…
Roberto Peralta
Case Western Reserve University, Modeling and Biomimetic Stimulation Paradigm Development
Roberto graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and minors in…
Bryn Spilker
Case Western Reserve University, Biomedical Engineering
Bryn studies how simultaneous co-application of multiple stimulation modalities affects the perceptu…
Eileen Anderson Student
Xavier Williams
Case Western Reserve University
Zonghe Chua Student
Sai Jiang
Case Western Reserve University, Electrical Engineering
Sai studies Teleoperation Optimization, Enhanced Virtual Reality, Robotic and Haptic
Kathryn Daltorio Student
Jianfeng (Tom) Zhou
Case Western Reserve University, Robotics
Tom’s research focuses on Human Robot Interaction, Haptics, Mechatronics, Sensors, and Teleoperation.
Michael Fu Student
Luis Mesias Flores
Case Western Reserve University, Electrical Engineering
Luis is studying Electrical Engineering with a focus on virtual reality, teleoperation, and electrical stimulation haptic feedback.
Seyed Hossein Miri Lavasani Student
Khan Zobayer Hassan
Case Western Reserve University, Electrical Engineering
Khan is interested in hardware security and RFIC design.
An Wang Student
Haonan Shi
Case Western Reserve University, Computer Science
Haonan studies privacy, federate learning, and security.