Gerwin Smit nominated biggest scientific talent 2018
Dr.ir. Gerwin Smit from Biomechanical Engineering, 3mE faculty, TU Delft, has been nominated by New Scientist for the title of biggest scientific talent in the Netherlands and Flanders.
Vote for Gerwin Smit at: www.newscientist.nl/talent
This what New Scientist wrote about Gerwin:
Hands are actually really special. They’re not too heavy, are never in the way and can perform highly detailed movements. So for people who have to depend on a prosthesis it’s important that their prosthesis works as well as a normal hand. Gerwin Smit is trying to make one of these perfect prostheses, in which humans and technology converge. He developed the Delft Cylinder Hand, for example, the lightest prosthetic hand in the world. It’s driven by tiny cylinders, which are so small that they fit in a finger. In another prosthetic hand Smit is working on, he is developing a smart mechanism that can make a gripping movement without the aid of a motor or batteries. Smit doesn’t only focus on hands, however. He has also developed a prosthetic knee that helps the elderly get onto their feet, for example.
‘What attracts me about science,’ Smit says, ‘is coming up with smart new things through research and being able to change people’s lives with technology. I’m always curious about why some things work while others don’t. I want to convey that enthusiasm to the new generation of engineers and give them the opportunity to discover how mechanical systems work. It gives me satisfaction to see how they develop from high-school students to young engineers that conceive, calculate and build.’
