Anthony Robinson named 2023 ASA SURIEA Scholar

BME student Anthony Robinson has been selected for the Acoustical Society of America's 2023 SURIEA (Summer Undergraduate Research or Internship Experience in Acoustics) program, an opportunity given to only 10 students nationally.  SURIEA is a 12-week paid program, emphasizing training, mentoring, research, and preparing students for graduate studies & careers in acoustics.  Anthony was matched with Dr. Terrin Tamati at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, TN, to work on the project "Adult cochlear implant outcomes: the role of auditory and social experience."  The general scope of the cochlear implant study is to analyze the many different variables present during speech and recognition of language, to map out which combinations of variables gives the best/worst results, and to find a way to correlate the results into new calibration techniques that will shorten the cochlear implant to brain pairing window successfully.  As part of the program, Anthony has attended an acoustics conference in Chicago, and he will also present his research findings at the spring 2024 ASA meeting in Ottawa, Canada.

Anthony expressed his interest in acoustics while taking (and earning high marks in) BIOM 3010 - Medical Measurements last fall; the instructor, Dr. Herickhoff, informed him of the SURIEA program and encouraged him to apply.  About the opportunity, Anthony said, "My eyes have been opened to new possibilities that can integrate my audiophile hobbies with my goal to improve the ways we help people."  Congratulations, Anthony!  We can't wait to see all the great things you'll achieve in the future!