Hugh Herr

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Hugh Herr

| image = Hugh Herr, 2013-crop.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Herr in 2013

| birth_name = Hugh Miller Herr

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|10|25|mf=yes}}

| birth_place = Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| field = Biophysics
Mechanical engineering
Physics

| work_institution = Massachusetts Institute of Technology

| alma_mater = Millersville University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard University

| doctoral_advisor =

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| known_for =

| author_abbreviation_bot =

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| prizes =

| footnotes =

| website = [https://www.media.mit.edu/people/hherr/ media.mit.edu]

}}

Hugh Herr (born October 25, 1964) is an American rock climber, engineer, and biophysicist. When he was young, both of his legs were amputated below the knee due to an accident during an unexpected blizzard that occurred on a rock climbing trip. After months of surgeries and rehabilitation, Herr began climbing again, using specialized prostheses he designed for himself, becoming the first person with a major amputation to perform in a sport on par with elite-level, able-bodied persons.{{Dubious|date=April 2024}} He holds the patents to the Rheo Knee, an active ankle-foot orthosis, which is the world's first powered ankle-foot prosthesis.

Early life

The youngest of five siblings of a Mennonite family from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Hugh Herr was a prodigy rock climber: by age 8, he had scaled the face of the {{convert|11627|ft|adj=on}} Mount Temple in the Canadian Rockies, and by 17 he was acknowledged to be one of the best climbers in the United States.{{cite news|last1=Adelson|first1=Eric|title=Best Foot Forward|url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2009/02/best-foot-forward-february/|access-date=December 31, 2016|work=Boston|date=March 2009|archive-date=March 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330102917/http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2009/02/best-foot-forward-february/|url-status=dead}}

In January 1982, after having ascended a difficult technical ice route in Huntington Ravine on Mount Washington in New Hampshire, Herr and fellow climber Jeff Batzer were caught in a blizzard and became disoriented, finally descending into the Great Gulf where they passed three nights in {{convert|-20|°F|°C}} degree temperatures. By the time they were rescued, the climbers had severe frostbite. Both of Herr's legs had to be amputated below the knees; Batzer lost his lower left leg, the toes on his right foot, and the thumb and fingers on his right hand. During the rescue attempt, volunteer Albert Dow was killed by an avalanche.

Following months of surgeries and rehabilitation, Herr was doing what doctors told him was unthinkable: climbing again. Using specialized prostheses that he designed, he created prosthetic feet with high toe stiffness that made it possible to stand on small rock edges the width of a coin, and titanium-spiked feet that assisted him in ascending steep ice walls. He used these prostheses to alter his height to avoid awkward body positions and to grab hand and foot holds previously out of reach. His height could range from {{convert|5|to|8|ft|m|spell=in}}. As a result of using the prostheses, Herr climbed at a more advanced level than he had before the accident, making him the first person with a major amputation to perform in a sport on par with elite-level, able-bodied persons.{{Cite book | last = Osius | first = Alison | title = Second Ascent: The Story of Hugh Herr | publisher = Stackpole Books | year = 1991 | location = Mechanicsburg, PA | url = https://archive.org/details/secondascentstor00osiu | isbn = 978-0-8117-1794-6 | url-access = registration }}{{cite web|author1=National Geographic Channel|title=Ascent - The Story of Hugh Herr|date=April 9, 2008 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkw_OJ2nto4|publisher=YouTube|access-date=December 31, 2016}}

Career

File:Wall climbing at h2.0 (541889183).jpg Media Lab's h2.0 symposium on May 9, 2007, watched by fellow bilateral amputee Aimee Mullins]]

While a postdoctoral fellow at MIT in biomedical devices, Herr began working on advanced leg prostheses and orthoses, devices that emulate the functionality of the human leg. He is now a professor at the MIT Media Lab, where he directs the Biomechatronics research group and co-directs the K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics.{{cite magazine | url = https://www.outsideonline.com/2238401/biomechatronic-man | title = The Biomechatronic Man | date = 6 September 2017 | access-date = 10 October 2017 | magazine =Outside | author = Todd Balf }}{{Cite news|url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-mit-media-lab-is-advancing-human-physicality-cognition-and-emotional-experience-through-bionic/|title=How MIT Media Lab is advancing human physicality, cognition, and emotional experience through bionic augmentation|work=TechRepublic|access-date=2018-10-18|language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://mcgovern.mit.edu/k-lisa-yang-center-for-bionics/|title=K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics|access-date=December 10, 2021}} At the center, he focuses on developing wearable robotic systems that serve to augment human physical capability. Most of what he designs is not for him, but for others to whose difficulties he can relate.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} The devices he designs are advancing an emerging field of engineering science that applies principles of biomechanics and neural control to guide the designs of human rehabilitation and augmentative devices.{{Cite news|url=http://www.strategy-business.com/article/Hugh-Herr-Wants-to-Build-a-More-Perfect-Human|title=Hugh Herr Wants to Build a More Perfect Human|last=Helgessen|first=Sally|date=October 3, 2016|work=Strategy+Business|access-date=December 31, 2016}} The goal is to rehabilitate individuals that have undergone limb amputation or have a pathology, and also to augment human physical capability for those with normal intact physiologies.

Herr holds the patents to a computer-controlled artificial knee,{{cite web |last1=Carswell |first1=Lindsay |date=February 12, 2005 |title=New Robotic Knee |url=http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?article_id=218392697 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029053337/http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?article_id=218392697 |archive-date=October 29, 2010 |access-date=December 31, 2016 |publisher=Science Central |df=mdy-all}} commercially available as the Rheo Knee{{cite news |last1=Zamiska |first1=Nicholas |date=July 6, 2004 |title=Bionic Knee 'Learns' How to Walk |url=https://www.wsj.com/ad/article/philips/SB108907039283655627.html |access-date=December 31, 2016 |work=The Wall Street Journal}} an active ankle-foot orthosis, and the world's first powered ankle-foot prosthesis.{{cite news |last1=Singer |first1=Emily |last2=Graham-Rowe |first2=Duncan |date=May 11, 2007 |title=Biomedicine The World's First Powered Ankle |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/407894/the-worlds-first-powered-ankle/ |access-date=December 31, 2016 |work=MIT Technology Review}} The computer-controlled knee, which is outfitted with a microprocessor that continually senses the joint's position and the loads applied to the limb, was named one of the Top Ten Inventions in the health category by Time magazine in 2004. The robotic ankle-foot prosthesis, which mimics the action of a biological leg and, for the first time, provides transtibial amputees with a natural gait, was named to the same Time top-ten list in 2007.

File:Hugh Herr, TED 2014.jpg 2014, where he first demonstrated a running gait under neural command.]]

Oscar Pistorious

Herr was a member of a team of seven experts in biomechanics and physiology from six universities that conducted research on the mechanics of Oscar Pistorius' running blades. The South African bilateral amputee track athlete was banned by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) from running in able-bodied events, as previous research had shown the blades gave him a competitive advantage.{{cite web |date=May 15, 2008 |title=Study Revives Olympic Prospects for Amputee Sprinter |url=https://www.media.mit.edu/news/releases/2008/05/study-revives-olympic-prospects-amputee-sprinter |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129195101/https://www.media.mit.edu/news/releases/2008/05/study-revives-olympic-prospects-amputee-sprinter |archive-date=January 29, 2018 |access-date=December 31, 2016 |publisher=MIT Media Lab}} A portion of these results were presented to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland in May 2008, by Herr and colleague Rodger Kram which resulted in reversing the ban. This allowed Pistorius to become the first disabled sprint runner to qualify against able-bodied athletes for an Olympic event.{{cite news |last1=Sauser |first1=Brittany |date=May 21, 2008 |title=Amputee Gets a Shot at the Olympics |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/410167/amputee-gets-a-shot-at-the-olympics/ |access-date=December 31, 2016 |work=MIT Technology Review}} The full findings of the team's experiments were published in the June 18, 2009 issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology.{{cite news |last1=G. Weyand |first1=Peter |last2=W. Bundle |first2=Peter |last3=P. McGowan |first3=Craig |last4=Grabowski |first4=Alena |last5=Brown |first5=Beth |last6=Kram |first6=Rodger |last7=Herr |first7=Hugh |date=June 18, 2009 |title=The fastest runner on artificial legs: different limbs, similar function? |url=http://jap.physiology.org/content/jap/early/2009/06/18/japplphysiol.00174.2009.full.pdf |access-date=December 31, 2016 |work=Journal of Applied Physiology |archive-date=January 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101091019/http://jap.physiology.org/content/jap/early/2009/06/18/japplphysiol.00174.2009.full.pdf |url-status=dead }}

Grants and awards

Sports Hall of Fame (1989)
United States College Academic Team (1990)
Young American Award (1990)
Science magazine Next Wave: Best of 2003
Time magazine Top Ten Inventions 2004{{cite magazine | url = https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1940424_1940477,00.html | magazine = Time | title = Smooth Operator - The Best Inventions Of 2004 | date = September 19, 2011|access-date=December 31, 2016}}
With the Providence VA Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine and Brown University, a $7.2 million grant from the US Department of Veterans Affairs to create "biohybrid" limbs to restore natural function to amputees. (2004)
Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Leadership Award (2005){{cite news |last1=Ward |first1=Logan |date=September 28, 2005 |title=2005 Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Awards |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a298/1762911/ |access-date=December 31, 2016 |work=Popular Mechanics}}
The 13th Annual Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy and Employment (2007){{cite web |title=Hugh Herr |url=http://www.heinzawards.net/recipients/hugh-herr |access-date=December 31, 2016 |publisher=The Heinz Awards}}
Time magazine Top Ten Inventions 2007{{cite magazine | url = https://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1677329_1678169,00.html | magazine = Time | title = Joint Venture - The Best Inventions Of 2007 | date = November 1, 2007 | access-date = May 4, 2010}}
Action Maverick Award (2008){{cite web|title=Action Maverick|url=http://streb.org/action-maverick/|publisher=STREB|access-date=December 31, 2016|archive-date=April 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415215303/http://streb.org/action-maverick/|url-status=dead}}
Spirit of Da Vinci Award (2008){{cite news|title=Spirit Of Da Vinci Award Goes To MIT Bio-Mechantron Professor - Amputee Designing The Next Generation Of Prostheses|url=http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/121158.php|work=Medical News Today|access-date=December 31, 2016|date=September 12, 2008}}
R&D Magazine{{'s}} 2014 Innovator of the Year{{cite news|last1=Hock|first1=Lindsay|title=R&D Magazine Announces Scientist and Innovator of the Year Award Winners|url=http://www.rdmag.com/news/2014/08/r-d-magazine-announces-scientist-and-innovator-year-award-winners|access-date=December 31, 2016|work=R&D Magazine|date=August 12, 2014}}
Smithsonian magazine's American Ingenuity Award (2014) in the Technology Category
Princess of Asturias Award for Technical & Scientific Research (2016){{cite web|title=Princess of Asturias Award for Technical & Scientific Research 2016 - Hugh Herr|url=http://www.fpa.es/en/princess-of-asturias-awards/laureates/2016-hugh-herr.html|publisher=The Princess of Asturias Foundation|access-date=December 31, 2016|date=2016}}

Rock climbs

1983 Vandals, Gunks, FA with Lynn Hill and Russ Clune, first 5.13 on the East Coast.{{Cite web|last=Clune |first=Russ |title=Vandals, Shawangunks |work=Patagonia – Field Report |publisher=Patagonia, Inc |date=Spring 2009 |url=http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/patagonia.go?slc=en_US&sct=US&assetid=40837 |access-date=Dec 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630114838/http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/patagonia.go?slc=en_US&sct=US&assetid=40837 |archive-date=June 30, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}
1984 Stage Fright (5.12c X), Cathedral Ledge, North Conway, NH. First Ascent.{{Cite book | last = Green | first = Stewart | title = Rock Climbing New England | publisher = Falcon Books | year = 2001 | location = Guilford CT | page = 100 | isbn = 978-1-56044-811-2}}
1986 Ride of the Valkyries (5.12a), Careno Crag, Leavenworth, WA – First Ascent.{{Cite web|last=Smoot |first=Jeff |title=A Walk in the Park |publisher=ClimbingWashington.com |year=2000 |url=http://www.climbingwashington.com/features/walkinthepark3.htm |access-date=December 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010408053721/http://climbingwashington.com/features/walkinthepark3.htm |archive-date=April 8, 2001 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}
1986 City Park (5.13c), Index Town Walls, WA – 2nd ascent.{{Cite news | last = Martin | first = Jason | title = Only strong climbers need apply themselves to the daunting granite of Index | work = Seattle PI | publisher = Seattle PI.com | date = April 14, 2005 | url = http://www.seattlepi.com/getaways/219792_townwall14.html | access-date = Dec 24, 2009 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}