She works hard for the money...

After a long & tedious search, and much interviewing and deliberation, I have finally accepted my first post college job! I'm now an official employee of the University of Utah's Biomedical Engineering Dept. I don't know what exactly my job title is, but I'm one of 3 people who make up the microfabrication team working on the research and development of neural prosthetic devices (specifically the Utah Electrode Array or UEA). This tiny chip (pictured below) is implanted in motor cortex and peripheral nerve and when a current is applied, has the ability to restore lost vision, hearing and even control of paralyzed limbs.

The project I'm currently working on is a Government grant from the Dept. of Defense to develop a bionic arm for all the amputee soldiers returning from Iraq "unarmed". Ok thats a HORRIBLE (and probably offensive) pun, but it just came to me and I can't help myself. Unlike any current prosthetic on the market, this arm (prototype due in '09) will be completely controlled by normal thought, just like a real arm, and will also provide sensory feedback. Despite having to spend almost all of my time in a clean lab, this kind of stuff really rings my bell. It doesn't get most people excited, but for those of you who are interested, I've put some links on my link list to articles about it.