Katelyn King has been named a 2023 Astronaut Scholar! She is a rising senior majoring in Biomedical Engineering and Robotics. She is currently working in Medtronic’s Research & Development division as an intern and plans to apply for entry into PhD programs in 2024.
Along with her Astronaut Scholarship win, Katelyn is a recipient of the 2022 NSPE Auxiliary Legacy Scholarship. As a research assistant with the Stirling Group, she authored a publication entitled "Assessing the Effect of a Powered Ankle Exoskeleton on Human Agility with Inertial Measurement Units," which she presented at the International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics 2022. She has also worked within the Biologically Inspired Robotics and Dynamical Systems (BIRDS) lab to develop a shell for a hexapedal robot (MediumANT) which enables the robot to self-right on level terrain. Ultimately, she hopes to pursue a career in medical robotics, and is working with the Image-Guided Medical Robotics Lab to improve the eye tracking capabilities of an autonomous eye scanning robot.
When asked why she applied, Katelyn noted, “I applied because I want to pursue every opportunity to learn the most I can, and this award offers the connections and resources to make that possible.”
She has also expressed that the application process has been invaluable to developing her confidence and solidifying her future goals. She encourages prospective applicants to apply, noting that looking back on her academic journey throughout the application process helped clarify her future ambitions.
