Talk Abstract

Engineering and Medicine—two fields that often feel disparate but share a common purpose: improving life through science, technology, and innovation. Both disciplines strive to advance technology and enhance health outcomes. This talk will highlight over a decade of research at the intersection of industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, human-computer interaction, and medicine. It will showcase how a team of engineers and medical professionals are transforming the way we prepare and assess the clinical competence of medical residents through advances in simulation technology. We will explore the design, evaluation, and deployment of patented technologies that have trained nearly 1,000 residents and demonstrated clinical reductions in medical errors by up to 46%. The session will conclude with insights on translating federally funded research into commercialization strategies that scale impact across the healthcare enterprise.

Biography

Scarlett Miller is the Paul Morrow Professor of Engineering Design and Industrial Engineering and is the Director of the Institute of Real Estate Innovation at Penn State. She also holds graduate appointments in Information Sciences and Surgery. Her research is highly interdisciplinary and collaborative focused at the intersection of engineering design, VR/AR, AI, robotics, and simulation technology across multiple domains. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and the U.S. State Department, among others. She is an active inventor with numerous patents and is the CEO of a Penn State Startup Company, Medulate (www.medulate.com). Professor Miller previously served as an administrative fellow Penn State Executive Vice President and Provost, a Big10 Fellow, and an ELATES National Executive Leadership program fellow. She is the chair of the Design Engineering Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. More information about Dr. Miller and her research group the britelab can be found at www.engr.psu.edu/britelab.