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PDS Welcomes Hugh Herr as 2010 Pioneer in Science

Princeton – PDS Welcomes Hugh Herr as 2010 Pioneer in Science Princeton Day School recently welcomed Hugh Herr, formerly one of the top climbers in the U.S. and now a professor at MIT and a leading researcher in the field of prosthetics and bionics, as its 2010 Pioneer in Science lecturer.

Hugh Herr spoke to the Upper School of PDS about how he turned what could have been a major disability—the amputation of both his legs below the knees—into an opportunity to extend the limits of human function.

Caught in a blizzard that stranded him and a fellow climber in -20 degree winds on Mount Washington for four days, Herr suffered from severe frostbite that caused the amputation of both legs. Within months, Herr was doing the unthinkable; he was climbing again, using specialized prostheses he designed himself.  He came to view his predicament as potential; he realized, for example, he could extend the length and features of his prostheses. “I increased my height by one inch each day to see how long it would take someone to notice—I think I approached 8 feet before someone finally noticed,” he joked with the students.

As a result of using the specialized self-designed prostheses, Herr climbed at the same advanced level he had been even before his accident. Following his climbing career, Herr turned to academics, eventually earning a PhD in biophysics from Harvard University. While a postdoctoral student at MIT, Herr began work on advanced leg prostheses and orthoses (devices that emulate the functionality of the human leg).

In his presentation, Herr shared some of the cutting-edge technologies on the horizon, including bionics, created for “extreme users of technology like myself.” One of these advances includes a brain implant, one-quarter the size of a thumbnail, which is able to control body movement in a paralyzed patient through deep brain stimulation. Other developments include personal robots, mobility platforms worn like coats that augment human movements, and nerve regeneration.

“Hugh Herr enabled us to see the future of technology in a whole new way, and inspired PDS students to imagine the contributions they could make towards that future,” remarked Barbara Maloney, Upper School Science teacher.

Herr advocated the power of possibility, noting his own career trajectory as evidence. “I was a terrible student, and now I’m a professor at MIT,” he said. “There are no disabled people, only poor design,” he affirmed. “I envision a future where technology becomes so advanced that we can rid disability.”

The PDS Pioneer in Science lecture was established in 2003 through the initiative and generosity of Trustees and friends of PDS. The Pioneers in Science Fund enables PDS to host guest lecturers each year who excel in the field of science.

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