A young inventor at West Virginia University has been recognized for her innovative prosthetic device by one of the top science and technology magazines in the world.
Popular Mechanics today (Oct. 1) named Katherine Bomkamp a 2012 Breakthrough Award winner for engineering the “Pain-Free Socket,” a prosthesis designed to eliminate phantom limb pain.
Bomkamp, a political science junior from Waldorf, Md., developed the prosthetic in high school after seeing amputees struggle firsthand at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She and her father, a U.S. Air Force veteran, often visited the Bethesda, Md.-based facility.
Popular Mechanics selected just 10 Breakthrough Award winners; Bomkamp is the only college student.
“To have Katherine honored by Popular Mechanics is another great testament to the promise of her dream to help others,” WVU President Jim Clements said. “We’re proud to have her as a Mountaineer, and we’re especially proud that she’s the only college student to earn this reward.”
In selecting the candidates and winners, editors of Popular Mechanics canvassed a wide range of experts in fields ranging from aerospace and robotics to medicine and energy.
Now it its eighth year, the awards recognize innovators who have dramatically advanced the fields of technology, medicine, space exploration, automotive design, environmental engineering and more. Their inventions make the world smarter, safer and more efficient.
Bomkamp and the other winners will be honored at an invitation-only conference and gala awards ceremony in New York City on Thursday (Oct. 4). They will also be featured in magazine’s November issue, available on newsstands Oct. 16.
“Popular Mechanics has always been one of my favorite magazines,” said Bomkamp, a self-proclaimed science and tech geek. “I’ve read it for years, and to win a Breakthrough Award and be featured in the magazine is really amazing.”
Society for Science and the Public, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group that hosts events such as the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, nominated Bomkamp for the honor. Bomkamp attended the fair earlier this year.
“We are once again excited to recognize this year’s list of incredible honorees for their role in shaping the future,” said James B. Meigs, editor-in-chief of Popular Mechanics. “This year’s winners embody the creative spirit that the Breakthrough Awards were founded upon.”
Past recipients of the Breakthrough Awards include James Cameron, genomics pioneer J. Craig Venter, efficiency expert Amory Lovins, inventor and FIRST Robotics founder Dean Kamen, and humanitarian engineer Amy Smith.
In addition to the conference and awards ceremony, Bomkamp will participate in a panel discussion titled “The Innovation Economy” in New York City. Joining her on the panel will be representatives from companies such as Elastec/American Marine and HRL Laboratories.
“I’ll speak about my experiences as a young person trying to be an entrepreneur,” Bomkamp said, “and how the economy affects college students who want to create their own businesses and products.”
Bomkamp said she gets questions from other WVU students interested in starting a business or developing a product. The best advice she has for them is to “surround yourself with people who look out for your best interests.”
Originally her 10th-grade science project, “The Pain Free Socket” incorporates thermal-bio feedback into prosthetics to eliminate phantom pain in amputees. Phantom pain is caused by the brain continuing to send signals and commands to the limb. Bomkamp’s device would help force the brain to focus on the heat produced through thermal-bio feedback, rather than sending signals to the nonexistent limb. Phantom pain is experienced by about 80 percent of the world’s 10 million amputees.
Since coming to WVU, Bomkamp has become one of the nation’s most celebrated students. Earlier this year, she became the youngest person to ever present to the Royal Society of Medicine’s Medical Innovations Summit in London. The Society, a 24,000-member British charitable organization that provides medical education, invited Bomkamp to speak after officials read about her invention. She was also one of 162 college students from 32 states to be named a Newman Civic Fellow. The fellowships recognize student leaders who have worked toward finding solutions for challenges facing communities and are awarded by Campus Compact, a national collation of 1,200 college and university presidents committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education.
Last year, Bomkamp was named one of Glamour magazine’s 21 Amazing Young Women and her innovation has received worldwide media coverage that includes CNN, The New York Times and the BBC.
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