Hello!

I’m Austin Shelton, a new graduate student in the Global Medical Innovation program. I’m originally from Bossier City/Shreveport, LA, and I’ve come straight to grad school after finishing my undergrad in Biomedical Engineering at Louisiana Tech University in May.

Me shortly before getting soaked hiking Mt. Mitchell, NC

For one of my early engineering design projects in undergrad, I built a vest to help vision-impaired people feel more confident in their surroundings. As LA Tech is very close to a renowned center for the blind, I frequently witnessed newly blind people training to navigate a new, uncomfortable world. To help with this, I built a vest with vibrational feedback and sensors to communicate with nodes along sidewalks and crosswalks to relay traffic info.

Early vest prototype

As for this course, I’m excited to go over CNC machining. I’ve taught myself to some extent in the past, but I quickly realized the parameter and material options are a bit too extensive for me to fully grasp without a mentor. That being said, I’m looking forward to building the chess set and getting a chance to apply these skills again!