A Powered Self-contained Knee and Ankle Prosthesis for near Normal Gait in Transfemoral Amputees

To my wife and son iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Reflecting upon my graduate career, I am deeply grateful to the many people whose help, insight, and guidance has brought me to where I am at today. I would first like to thank Dr. Ty Newell, who helped a former student find his direction and motivated him to enter graduate school. Next, I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Michael Goldfarb for taking me on as a student and sharing his knowledge and insight over the duration of my graduate career. He has taught me to think creatively and independently and has given me an invaluable tool set to tackle complex problems. I would also like to express my appreciation to the members of my dissertation committee, Dr. The sum is greater than the parts. This has certainly proven to be true of my collaboration on this work with the soon to be Dr. Atakan Varol. His rigor and genius helped keep the project on track and above expectations. I look forward to seeing the fruition of his work beyond graduation. All the members of the Center for Intelligent Mechatronics during my time here have been integral and deserve special recognition. The lab fosters a collaborative environment that allows all of the members to push beyond their bounds. I thank Dr. Thomas Withrow and Jason Mitchell who have been invaluable for their advice and assistance. A special thanks goes to Craig who went above and beyond in helping us test and who without the project could not have gone so far. It almost goes without saying that I am incredibly grateful to my entire family for their unfailing love, support, confidence and encouragement. I would especially like to thank my parents for everything they iv have done for me over the years. I thank them for pushing me to excel, for teaching me to love learning and for encouraging me to be a better person. Most importantly, I would like to acknowledge the incredible tolerance and patience displayed by my wife, Lara, during my graduate career. It has not been easy, but she has made it fun. Her continuous love, support and sacrifice has helped make this dream a reality. She helps me to find the best in myself and I look forward to taking on the next challenge with her by my side. Finally, I thank my son, Frank, for keeping …