Manhattan, NY – NYIT Engineering Assistant Professor Chung Hyuk Park, Ph.D., has won a $692,000 National Institutes of Health grant to research how music and physical activities combine to improve the social and emotional responses of children with autism spectrum disorder.

The three-year grant is believed to be the first NIH grant awarded to an NYIT engineering faculty member. Park's NIH grant award is the second NIH grant awarded to an NYIT researcher in the last two months. Dr. Qiangrong Liang of the College of Osteopathic Medicine is pursuing studies in cardiac health with a $431,000 NIH grant awarded in early August.

Park's research aims to discover ways that robots can stimulate the emotional and social interactivity of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children with the disorder often have difficulty interacting and communicating their thoughts and feelings to others.

"Our goal is to make the connection between music, emotion, and movements," said Park, who will conduct research in his lab on NYIT's Manhattan campus. "We will study how children with autism spectrum disorder react to different sound or emotive cues in the form of movements."

"In this highly competitive era for government funding of academic research, Professor Park's success in receiving this NIH grant is a shining testament to the quality of NYIT faculty, and it further supports our initiatives in and strategic plans for cross-disciplinary research and scholarship," said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Rahmat Shoureshi, Ph.D.

Park will use several robotic platforms, from an iPhone mounted robot to a child-sized humanoid, to engage with children with ASD. Using an array of special cameras, microphones, and sensors, researchers will measure, monitor, and evaluate the physical and emotional status of children during human-robot interactions. They will observe the children's movements, facial expressions, and engagement with the robots. Park and his colleagues will use the results to "train" the robots to learn the best gestures and musical stimuli that foster greater engagement with the children.

"Our ultimate goal is to create a framework for an interactive clinical session in which the children will play games or dance with the robot and even generate music based on their creative movements," said Park.

Park joined NYIT in 2013. He had previously worked at Seoul National University, LG Electronics, and Georgia Institute of Technology. His collaborators on the project include researchers with Michigan Tech University and Georgia Institute of Technology.

Graduate research assistants and a postdoctoral research fellow will participate in the research.

"This multi-disciplinary project provides opportunities for students to learn control theory, dynamics, computer vision, robotics, and acoustics," said Park.

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