Ritu Raman
Ritu Raman is a scientist that is making important strides in biological material research while also working to increase diversity in STEM. Raman has been appointed an ambassador of AAAS IF/THEN (an organization that promotes and empowers women in STEM) (4) and founded the Women in Innovation and STEM database at MIT (1).The Raman lab at MIT is currently focusing on a concept called biological actuators (1). An actuator can be defined as a component of a machine that generates force from an input signal (2). In a biological context, an actuator is a component of the body that generates a movement from biological energy (3). In animals, an example could be muscle cells for generating leg movement or subconscious beating of the heart muscles (3). Raman’s lab is working to create synthetic actuators for use in the human body where it could accurately receive sensory and neural information and enact a function (1). This research could help to restore limb mobility to people who have suffered disease or injury (1).
MECHE PEOPLE: Ritu Raman | MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering. (2016). Mit.edu. https://meche.mit.edu/people/faculty/ritur%40mit.edu
Wikipedia Contributors. (2024, September 5). Actuator. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actuator#:~:text=An%20actuator%20is%20a%20component,required%20form%20of%20mechanical%20energy.
Wei, S., & Ghosh, T. K. (2022). Bioinspired Structures for Soft Actuators. Advanced Materials Technologies, 7(10). https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202101521
AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). (2019). American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). https://www.aaas.org/programs/inclusive-stemm-ecosystems-equity-diversity-iseed/aaas-ifthenr-ambassadors