MAE Graduate Student Awarded Ruby Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship

Matthew Boots, a Mechanical Engineering graduate student pursuing research in assistive robotics to help stroke survivors with daily challenges, has been awarded a Ruby Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship. Matthew is currently conducting his research in the Neural Engineering Lab in the Center for Neuroscience, under direction of Dr. Sergiy Yakovenko. Matthew’s graduate research has also been recognized with the honorable mention from the National Science Foundation in 2014.


 
Matthew grew up on a farm in Fombell, Pennsylvania. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University. Matthew is also a co-owner of a biomedical company developing health-related technology.
 
According to the Ruby Fellows Program website, the prestigious Ruby Distinguished Doctoral Fellows Program allows select doctoral students to work with nationally recognized faculty in their fields of study. Currently, this program supports research in energy and environmental sciences; nanotechnology and material science; biological, biotechnological, and biomedical sciences; and biometrics, security, forensic sciences, and related identification technologies. The fellowship’s financial support is intended to allow incoming doctoral level scholars to commit themselves fully to expanding their talents and using their research to benefit the people of West Virginia, the nation, and the world. As part of the support package, Ruby Scholars receive a $30,000 stipend; up to $2,000 annually for professional development travel; a waiver or payment of university and college tuition fees; and graduate student health insurance. Learn more about the Ruby Fellows Program here: http://rubyfellowship.wvu.edu/about.
 
Congratulations, Matthew!