Hugh Herr

Professor Hugh Herr creates bionic limbs that emulate the function of natural limbs. A double amputee, he is responsible for breakthrough advances that provide greater mobility and new hope to people with physical disabilities. In 2011, Time named him the “Leader of the Bionic Age” for his revolutionary work in the emerging field of biomechatronics, which marries human physiology with electromechanics. Hugh’s innovations include an ankle-foot prosthesis called EmPower, which, for the first time, offers amputees a natural gait. In 2015, his MIT research group invented a surgical procedure that allows people to control their synthetic limbs through thought and experience natural sensations from synthetic limbs.

About MIT Media Lab

The MIT Media Lab is an interdisciplinary creative playground rooted in academic excellence, comprising dozens of research groups and initiatives working collaboratively on hundreds of projects. The Media Lab focuses on creating and commercializing transformational technologies, and emphasizes the importance of impacting society for good. Now in its fourth decade, the Media Lab is meeting unprecedented technological, social, and global challenges with new designs for human networks, cities, the arts, and the brain and body.