��«Ӱҵ

When engineering and neuroscience converge, it can bring forth innovations that aid individuals with motor impairments. This is the space where ��«Ӱҵ senior Aleece Al-Olimat wants to make her mark.

This summer, she’s getting a head start by interning at the .

At age 4, Aleece was diagnosed with epilepsy. Her subsequent health journey ignited her interest in the complexities of the human brain.

At ��«Ӱҵ, the Ada, Ohio native who graduated from Ada High School, is a double major in computer science in the T.J. Smull College of Engineering and neuroscience in the Getty College of Arts & Sciences.

“My aim is to one day design transformative engineering systems to restore mobility and independence to those who have lost them.”

Her work in Dr. Phil Zoladz’s research lab at ��«Ӱҵ, which included the chance to attend and present at a national neuroscience conference, led to her research internship at the University of Pittsburgh.

During her experience, she’s witnessing firsthand the ways that technology can empower individuals with physical limitations.

“It’s changed what was previously an interest of mine into a passion.”

She describes the Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy device and exoskeleton robotic arm she is working with this summer “as some of the coolest pieces of technology that I’ve had the pleasure to geek out over and use.”

As an undergraduate working in a lab with M.D. and Ph.D. personnel, she’s had to “let go of the fear of appearing lacking in comparison.”

“I’ve learned to acknowledge that nobody starts off as a master. Being fully transparent about what I do and do not know has allowed me to learn more, and it’s turned this opportunity into one of the most formative learning experiences of my college career.”