San Jose Standard

WASHINGTON, DC – On May 24, U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Ranking Member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, along with U.S. Representatives Anna Eshoo (CA-16), Ro Khanna (CA-17), and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) announced that San Jose State University (SJSU) will receive a total of $398,117 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support two health and safety research initiatives.

“Innovative research leads to medical breakthroughs, new technologies, and enhanced resiliency. That’s why we’re proud to support SJSU’s scientific initiatives that can improve our nation’s understanding of extreme wildfires and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and neurological conditions,” said Reps. Lofgren, Eshoo, Khanna, and Panetta.

"San Jose State University is Silicon Valley’s fast-growing, up-and-coming research powerhouse, creating an ecosystem of public-impact research that is changing the lives of our students and community. Our researchers are creating innovative solutions to the world's problems, including technology for rehabilitation support and interdisciplinary approaches to combat wildfires,” said SJSU President Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson.

The Members announced the following grants:

1. $199,946 for research to improve powered, robotic exoskeletons that assist people with physical disabilities and neurological impairments.
2. $198,171 for three research workshops on extreme wildfires to improve public safety, human health, and economic security.

The first grant comes from NSF’s Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) Division and the research aims to “advance the field of assistive robotics to have a widespread impact on the quality of life for a variety of people with disabilities and neurological conditions caused by spinal cord injury, stroke, and other injuries/diseases.”

The second grant is being co-funded across various programs at NSF, including CBET and the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS), and two of the three workshops will be held in San Jose with meteorology, engineering, fire safety, community resilience, and human health experts.

Original source can be found here