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Conor J. Walsh

Faculty
  • Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering
Conor J. Walsh

Contact Information

Office: Pierce Hall 328
Email: walsh [ AT ] seas [ DOT ] harvard [ DOT ] edu
Office Phone: 617-496-7128
Lab Phone: 617-496-4269

Education

  1. B.A.I., B.A., 2003, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Trinity College
  2. M.S., 2006, Mechanical Engineering, MIT
  3. Ph.D., 2010, Mechanical Engineering, MIT
  4. Certificate in Medical Sciences, 2010, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology

Research Interests

    • Electrical Engineering
    • Robotics and Control
    • Innovation and Entrepreneurship
    • Start-ups and Technology Transfer
    • Marriage of Biological & Artificial Systems
    • Biomechanics and Motor Control
    • Materials & Devices
    • Solid Mechanics

Primary Teaching Area

Materials Science & Mechanical Engineering

Secondary Teaching Area

Bioengineering

Profile

Conor is Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and a Core Faculty Member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard. He is the founder of the Harvard Biodesign Lab, which brings together researchers from the engineering, industrial design, medical and business communities to develop smart medical devices and translate them to industrial partners in collaboration with the Wyss Institute's Advanced Technology Team. Conor's research projects focus on wearable robotics to assist the disabled and able-bodied, as well as on tools for minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of disease. His educational interest is in the area of medical device innovation where he mentors student design teams on projects with clinicians in Boston and in emerging regions such as India. Conor received his B.A.I and B.A. degrees in Mechanical and Manufacturing engineering from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, in 2003 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006 and 2010.

Positions & Employment

Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University

  • Starting Jan 2012: Assistant Professor in Mechanical & Biomedical Engineering

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University

  • Starting Jan 2012: Core Faculty Member

Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

  • August 2010–December 2011: Lecturer in Engineering Design

Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School

  • August 2010–December 2011: Assistant in Engineering / Instructor in Radiology                             

Flagship Ventures

  • June-August 2010: Summer Entrepreneurial Fellow

Honors

  • 1st place in Admiral Luis DeFlorez Award for Excellence in Mechanical Engineering Design at MIT, 2010
  • MIT Graduate Student Mentor of the Year for Undergraduate Research, 2008-2009
  • Whitaker Health Sciences Fund Fellowship, 2008-2009               
  • 1st place American Society of Mechanical Engineers Innovation Showcase, 2008
  • 1st place MIT Mechanical Engineering Excellence in Medical Device Design Award, 2008
  • National Collegiate Inventors Competition Finalist, 2007
  • 1st place Grand Prize winner of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, 2007           
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute Med. into Grad. Scholar, 2007
  • 3rd place in the NCIIA Biomedical Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, 2006
  • $1K Winner of the MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition in Hardware, 2005
  • Selected by Boston Globe as Boston IDEAS Next Generation Speaker, 2005
  • Winner of the MIT IDEAS Design Competition, 2005
  • Winner of the MIT $1K Entrepreneurship Competition Development Category, 2003
  • Gold Medal and placed top of the Trinity School of Engineering B.A.I. class of 180 students, 2003
  • Maurice F. Fitzgerald Prize for distinction in Engineering, 2003
  • Institute of Mechanical Engineers Frederic Barnes Waldron Prize, 2003
  • Jeffcott Prize in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, 2003
  • Collen Prize for Final Year Project in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, 2003
  • Awarded 1st Prize for Final Year Project Oral Presentation, 2003
  • Institute of Mechanical Engineers Best Student Award, 2002
  • Stanford Smith Prize in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, 2002

Selected Publications

Journal Publications

  1. Hanumara, N., Walsh, C., Osborn, L., Slocum, A. Solving Medical Challenges while Teaching Mechanical Engineering Design. ASME Journal of Mechanical Design  (in press).
  2. Walsh, C., Meskers, A., Slocum, A., Gupta, R. CT-Compatible Medical Drilling Stylet for Percutaneous Interventions. ASME Journal of Medical Devices (in press).
  3. Walsh, C. Analysis of Remote Center of Compliance Devices based on Stewart Platforms. ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics (accepted for publication).
  4. Walsh, C., Sapkota, B., Kalra, M., Hanumara, N., Liu, B., Shepard, J., Gupta, R. Smaller and Deeper Lesions Increase the Number of Acquired Scan Series in CT-guided Lung Biopsy, Journal of Thoracic Imaging, (in press).
  5. Walsh, C. Phan, C., Misra, M., Bredella, M, Miller, K., Fazeli, P., Bayraktar, H, Kilbanski, A., Gupta, R. Women with Anorexia Nervosa: Finite Element and Trabecular Structure Analysis by Using Flat-Panel Volume CT, Radiology, Volume 257: Number 1, October 2010, Pages 167-174.
  6. Rothenhofer, G., Walsh, C., Slocum, A. Transmission Ratio Based Analysis and Robust Design of Mechanisms, Precision Engineering, Volume 34: issue 4, October 2010, Pages 790-797.
  7. Walsh, C., Heaton, J., Kobler, J., Szabo, T., Zeitels, S. Imaging of the Calf Vocal Fold with High Frequency Ultrasound, The Laryngoscope, 118 (Oct.): 1894-1899, 2008.
  8. Walsh, C., Hanumara, N., Slocum, A., Shepard, J., Gupta, R. A Patient-Mounted, Telerobotic Tool for CT-Guided Percutaneous Interventions, ASME Journal of Medical Devices, 2(1): 2008.
  9. Walsh, C., Kearney, C. Engineering, Science and Medicine: Transforming Healthcare. Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Student Medical Journal, 1(1): 56-59, 2008.
  10.  Walsh, C., Endo, K., Herr, H. A Quasi-Passive Leg Exoskeleton for Load Carrying Augmentation. International Journal of Humanoid Robotics, Special Issue: Active Exoskeletons, 4(3): 487-506, 2007.

Patents Awarded

  1. Walsh, C., Gupta, R., Slocum, A (2009) ‘Systems and Methods for Medical Instrument Distal Tip Manipulation for Improved Diagnosis and Treatment’, Provisional patent application
  2. Herr, H., Walsh, C., Paluska, D., Pasch, K., Grand, W., Valiente, A (2007) ‘Exoskeletons for walking and running’,Utility patent application #PCT/US2007/0123997  
  3. Gupta, R., Barrett, S., Hanumara, N., Shepard, J., Slocum, A., Walsh, C. (2006) ‘A remote needle guidance system for percutaneous image guided biopsies’, Utility patent application #PCT/US2006/002908