Courtney Rouse

Biography

As a research engineer at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in the Performance Metrology Group, my work focuses on automation of a variety of healthcare and human performance applications, from markerless motion capture to cell segmentation. At SwRI we are actively looking for research partners in both industry and academia.

I received my doctorate in mechanical engineering at the University of Florida in 2019 as a member of the Nonlinear Controls and Robotics Lab with PI Dr. Warren Dixon. My research focused on control of human muscle via functional electrical stimulation (FES), which has applications in rehabilitation for people with movement disorders such as stroke or spinal cord injury. Ideas from human-machine interaction were implemented to provide robotic assistance to subjects, while still promoting muscle contractions for sufficient exercise. Specifically, my publications explore FES cycling and biceps curls, with a focus on Lyapunov theory for switched systems to control the nonlinear and unknown system of multiple muscle groups and a motor. My work has been presented at multiple conferences such as IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, American Controls Conference, International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society conference, and appears in IEEE Control Systems Letters and Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. In addition to nonlinear control theory, I have taken classes in dynamics, neural engineering, and orthopedic biomechanics.