Joel Carlos Huegel-West - Faculty

Dr. Joel C. Huegel is tenured professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering at the Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Guadalajara in Mexico. He became a member of the prestigious National System of Researchers (S.N.I. Level 1) In 2016. Also in 2016 he received the "Inspiring Professor" award at Campus Guadalajara and was a finalist in the national award. 

Huegel completed his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 2009 at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Previous to both Rice and four years of teaching experience at the Tecnológico, Huegel obtained a M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington. The topic of his Ph.D. thesis was human-robot interaction for training and rehabilitation in challenging dynamic motor skill tasks. 

Now, as researcher at the Tec de Monterrey, Huegel develops technology for underprivileged communities and basic industrial biomechatronic applications. One project of particular interest is the design and testing of an ultra low-cost, high activity prosthetic foot. In 2014 he was granted the Pauchon Foundation annual award $6,500 USD with which he founded Tecnologias para la Comunidad, a NGO to deliver prosthesis. The organization won the 2016 Talloires Network MacJannet Award in recongnition of its student civic engagement program. 

For this and other projects, Huegel has obtained slightly over 2 million pesos (120,000USD) in government grants, industry funding, and university seed funding. Under his leadership, his team of undergradute and graduate students have published over 30 journal and conference publications including 7 Patents pending. Huegel's passion for teaching engineering with excellence in the developing world has taken him to live and travel in countries across the americas, Asia United States and Mexico.

• Computer Drawing
• Doctoral Research
• Dynamics
• Guided Research
• Machine Design and Development

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Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, Rice University

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington

Mechanical engineer, Le Tourneau University

• Pseudo Fatigue Test of Passive Energy-Returning Prosthetic Foot 2017 
• Corrosion and wear resistance in Simulated Body Fluid for TiAlPtN/TiAlN/TiAl multilayer films deposited over a CoCrMo substrate by means of Plasma Enhanced Magnetron Sputtering 2016 
• Aerodynamic Principles of Golf Balls: An Alternative to the Exterior Design of Heavy Vehicles 2013 
• Tee-R: Platform for the study of virtual task-oriented motion and its correlation to surface biopotentials 2013 

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Premio Jalisco - Categoría Cientifica, conferred by Gobierno de Jalisco, 2018

Member, conferred by Asoc Mexicana de Ciencia y Tecnologia e Inovacion, 2014

Senior Member, conferred by IEEE, 2014

Annual Award - Betterment of Mankind, conferred by Pauchon Foundation, 2013

Mexican Researcher Certification - Level 1 (Huegel-West, Joel Carlos)