A Lawrence Technological University assistant professor of biomedical engineering has been awarded two new grants – one to explore touch-sensitive feedback in robots, and another to expand entrepreneurial education in biotech.

Mansoor Nasir is principal investigator on a $50,000 grant from the DENSO North America Foundation and a $25,000 grant from the Kern Family Foundation.

The DENSO grant will be used to acquire laboratory instrumentation to help LTU students design, develop and evaluate haptics, the science of touch-based human-computer interfaces, for applications like auto interiors, medicine, and virtual reality.

“We want to introduce a sense of touch into robots to give them the ability to interact with objects,” Nasir said.

Working with Nasir on the DENSO grant are Eric Meyer, associate professor of biomedical engineering; James Kern, robotics lab instructor; Franco Delogu, assistant professor of psychology; and Nabih Jaber, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Meyer is also co-principal investigator on the Kern Family Foundation grant.

The focus of the Kern grant is broadening the scope of entrepreneurial education in engineering classes, making it more widely available through such digital media as web videos.

Earlier, in 2014, Nasir and Meyer received a grant through a Kern Family Foundation program, the Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN), to develop course modules on entrepreneurship for engineering classes. In 2015, they received funds through KEEN to organize three half-day workshops on entrepreneurship for engineering professors.

The Kern Family Foundation, based in Waukesha, Wis., has as one of its goals building entrepreneurship into engineering education. More at http://www.kffdn.org/ or http://engineeringunleashed.com/keen/.

About the DENSO North America Foundation

A registered 501(c)3 corporate foundation, the DENSO North America Foundation is dedicated to helping Students advance their education in engineering, technology and other related programs. Founded in 2001, the Foundation provides grants to colleges and universities throughout North America, helping our communities prosper through the development of a skilled and knowledgeable workforce. The Foundation also provides disaster relief grants through the American Red Cross to aid persons and communities in which DENSO Corporation operates. For more, visit http://densofoundation.org.

About DENSO in North America

In North America, DENSO employs more than 23,000 people at 30 consolidated companies and affiliates. Of these, 25 are manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In the United States alone, DENSO employs more than 15,000 people in California, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Arkansas. DENSO’s North American consolidated sales totaled US$9.9 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016. For more, go to www.densocorp-na.com or connect with DENSO on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DENSOinNorthAmerica.