Francisco Valero-Cuevas graduated from Swarthmore College in 1988 with a BS in Engineering. As a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, he spent one year in the Indian Subcontinent, studying philosophy and learning Hindi. In 1991, he received an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Queen's University, under the guidance of Professor Carolyn Small. He joined Stanford University in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and obtained a PhD in 1997, under the guidance of Professor Felix Zajac.
Career
Valero-Cuevas' first job was as a research associate and lecturer at Stanford University in Mechanical Engineering. He then joined Cornell University's Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as an assistant professor, with a joint appointment at the Hospital for Special Surgery as an assistant scientist. After being promoted to associate professor (with tenure) in 2005, he moved to the University of Southern California as an associate professor (with tenure), and was promoted to full professor in 2011. His primary appointment at the University of Southern California are in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy. He has joint appointments in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Computer Science.
Notable contributions
Strength-dexterity test
This method for the assessment of hand function was invented by Francisco Valero-Cuevas in 2000, and available as a device.[2] He has applied this successfully to study hand function in adults with disabilities,[8] children,[9] and even for assessing leg function.[5] He founded a company in 2015, Neuromuscular Dynamics, LLC,[10] based on these devices.
Awards and honors
2023 Elected senior member, National Academy of Inventors for innovation in the field of human mobility.[11]
2018 Honorary degree of Doctor of Sciences, awarded by his Alma mater, Swarthmore College during their 146th Commencement on may 27, 2018[12]
2015 Orange County Engineering Council OCEC President’s Prestigious Award, for "Scholarly and Outstanding Contributions to the Engineering Profession'"[13]: 92
2014 Elected Fellow, College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering for "Outstanding Contributions to the Mathematical and Engineering Understanding of the Neural Control of Limbs to Produce Versatile Function"[14]
^ abB1 US 6537075 B1, Valero-Cuevas, Francisco, "Device for developing and measuring grasping force and grasping dexterity", published Jan 11, 2000
^A1 US 20060293615 A1, Valero-Cuevas, Francisco & Brown, Daniel, "Device and method for quantifying and extracting sensorimotor circuitry", published Dec 28, 2006
^A1 US 20100228156 A1, Valero-Cuevas, Francisco & Forssberg, Hans, "Dexterity device", published Sep 9, 2010
^A US 6000193 A, Valero-Cuevas, Francisco; Sulzenbacher, Raimund & Hetzenauer, Stefan, "Easily adjustable, reusable arch-forming assembly for creating a framework for constructing arches and archways", published Dec 14, 1999