Mary Goldsmith - Robotics Engineer

Mary Goldsmith is a biomedical engineer who was recruited in January 2011 to join the Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI) as a Robotics Engineer.  Her goal is to use robotics technology to provide an effective and accurate tool for testing clinically relevant research questions. Her work will focus on customizing our KUKA robotics system to be used as a tool for biomechanical testing.  She will support the development and implementation of a wide range of biomechanical experiments, such as testing and validating new surgical techniques.
Mary enjoys applying her engineering skills to improve the health of patients.  “For me, finding the human element to my research is essential.  It’s a fun intellectual task to work on programming a robot, but walking through the halls of the hospital and seeing the people whose care will be impacted by my work adds motivation and purpose that cannot be replaced.” Along with her experience in robotics, Mary is excited to bring to SPRI that same passion for pursuing cutting edge research aimed at improving patient orthopedic care.
Mary’s interest in robotics began while pursuing her Master of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University. She conducted her research in the Motion Analysis Lab at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston where she began exploring robotics and whole body biomechanics.  Her research involved using a clinical rehabilitation robotics system to investigate the body’s response to disturbances during gait. Her goals were to better understand the motor system and to develop the robotic system into a tool that could be used to test interesting research questions, such as how motor adaptation is altered during injury or disease. Mary was also involved in and developed software for other motion analysis projects in her lab.
Mary attended Boston University for her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering.  During her undergraduate education, Mary researched cellular biomechanics and the properties of new biomaterials.  The combination of her biomechanics research and relevant coursework sparked her interest in pursuing a career in biomechanical research.
In her free time, Mary enjoys biking, running, skiing, hiking, and high-altitude baking.  She is enjoying the beauty of the mountains and is looking forward to getting to know Vail better.