Interview with Dr. Shim at the University of Maryland

Me and Dr. Sim in his laboratory

This summer, I was fortunate enough to have an interview with Professor Shim at the University of Maryland, leading the kinesiology laboratory. Dr. Shim studies the field of rehabilitation without the use of robots. Although the interview was concise, it still gave me a great deal of insight on the topic.

1. What specific area of rehabilitation do you research?

    I study the field of neuro-rehabilitation. Rehabilitation alone usually describes the process of giving patients the ability to fully control their muscles. However, I also study the crucial peripheral and central nervous system that control the muscles themselves. Studying both topics gives me other ingenious ideas for rehabilitation techniques.

2. Do you have any goals for research this year?

Me and Dr. Shim in front
of the university mascot

    I have two main goals. The first is to figure out how the brain can create such meticulous control in the fingers all at once. Another is to research human locomotion itself and know how humans move themselves for long distances.

I was quite amazed at how much research he does in such a obscure and ambiguous field. I must say that he is very determined in making sure that he is a pioneering researcher in his field.

When I visited his laboratory, in the top left picture, there were long runways covered with tiny sensors. Surrounding the runway were special cameras that measured the amount of tension applied throughout the body just by bouncing off electromagnetic waves.

In another laboratory, he was designing a shoe model that would minimize weight and tension in the leg while maximizing performance in the athlete. This show-developing project was a joint operation with Under Armour, a well known athletics gear company.

Well, I wish good luck to Dr. Shim and I am amazed at how he much he knows about his field. By the way, he is also planning to write a paper for the prestigious journal Nature.