Ahmed, Alaa Abdalla

Professor

Positions

Associate Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Science
Professor, ATLAS Institute
Faculty Fellow, Aerospace Engineering Sciences
Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Research Areas

Research

research overview

Dr. Ahmed's research uses a neuroeconomic approach to reverse engineer how the brain controls movement. Specifically, she seeks to understand the costs and rewards underlying movement choices in health and disease. Experiments use a combination of approaches involving virtual reality, robotic interfaces, kinetic and kinematic analyses. Coupled with computational models, these investigations will provide greater insight into the interplay between the biomechanical and sensorimotor processes underlying human movement control, learning, and decision-making.

keywords

decision making, movement, neuroeconomics, biomechanics, neuromechanics, computational motor control

Publications

selected publications

book
- Vigor Neuroeconomics of Movement Control 2020
conference proceeding
- Effort expenditure links control of vigor with decision-making 2020
journal article
- Reward invigorates isometric gripping actions.. Journal of Neurophysiology. 2025
- Physical effort precrastination determines preference in an isometric task. Journal of Neurophysiology. 1395-1411. 2024
- Disentangling the effects of metabolic cost and accuracy on movement speed. PLoS Computational Biology. 2024
- Slowing of Movements in Healthy Aging as a Rational Economic Response to an Elevated Effort Landscape. The Journal of Neuroscience. 2024
- Effects of reward and effort history on decision making and movement vigor during foraging. Journal of Neurophysiology. 638-651. 2024

Teaching

courses taught

BMEN 6519 - Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering
Primary Instructor - Fall 2022
Credit hours and subject matter to be arranged. May be repeated up to 12 total credit hours.
GEEN 1400 - Engineering Projects
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018
First-year students solve real engineering design problems in interdisciplinary teams. Design projects vary by section. Curriculum focuses on iterative design process, teamwork and team dynamics, supporting design with testing and analysis, and technical writing. Completed projects are exhibited at an end-of-semester design expo. Students are responsible for contributing towards their design project budget, workshop costs, and course arduino kit (approximately $125). Degree credit not granted for this course and ASTR 2500, ASEN 1400, ASEN 1403 and ECEN 1400.
IPHY 4540 - Biomechanics
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2019
Applies the principles of physics and physiology to analyze the movement of humans and other animals. Assesses the mechanical properties of muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones. Quantitatively analyzes forces, torque, mechanical energy, power impulses and momentum associated with human movement. Students enroll in a lab, and the enrolled lab will have a designated recitation and lecture attached. All registration restrictions will be strictly enforced by the department. Recommended prerequisites: IPHY 3415 and calculus (MATH 1300 or MATH 1310 or APPM 1350) and statistics (IPHY 3280 or EBIO 1010 or MATH 2510 or PSYC 2111 or SOCY 2061). Same as IPHY 5540.
IPHY 6680 - Matlab for Physiological and Biomechanical Research
Primary Instructor - Fall 2019
Introduces Matlab programming skills needed to write and modify programs for data acquisition and analysis, statistics, plotting, and simulation.
IPHY 6840 - Research Project
Primary Instructor - Spring 2019 / Spring 2021
Involves a scholarly investigation of a selected topic using literature and/or experimental techniques. Advisor required. May be repeated up to 3 total credit hours.

MCEN 2043 - Dynamics
Primary Instructor - Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022
Covers dynamic behavior of particle systems and rigid bodies. Topics include 2-D and 3-D kinematics and kinetics, impulse, momentum, potential and kinetic energy, and work and collision. Degree credit not granted for this course and CVEN 3111.

MCEN 4157 - Modeling of Human Movement
Primary Instructor - Summer 2023
Human movement analysis is used in physical rehabilitation, sport training, human-robot interaction, animation, and more. Course provides a systematic overview of human movement on multiple levels of analysis, with an emphasis on the phenomenology amenable to computational modeling. Covers muscle physiology, movement-related brain areas, musculoskeletal mechanics, forward and inverse dynamics, optimal control and Bayesian inference, learning and adaptation. Inspires students to see and appreciate the complexities of movement control in all aspects of daily life. Same as BMEN 4157 and MCEN 5157 and BMEN 5157.

MCEN 4228 - Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering
Primary Instructor - Spring 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022
Subject matter to be selected from topics of current interest. May be repeated up to 15 credit hours. Same as MCEN 5228.

MCEN 5157 - Modeling of Human Movement
Primary Instructor - Summer 2023
Human movement analysis is used in physical rehabilitation, sport training, human-robot interaction, animation, and more. Course provides a systematic overview of human movement on multiple levels of analysis, with an emphasis on the phenomenology amenable to computational modeling. Covers muscle physiology, movement-related brain areas, musculoskeletal mechanics, forward and inverse dynamics, optimal control and Bayesian inference, learning and adaptation. Inspires students to see and appreciate the complexities of movement control in all aspects of daily life. Same as BMEN 5157 and MCEN 4157 and BMEN 4157.

MCEN 5228 - Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering
Primary Instructor - Spring 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022
Subject matter to be selected from topics of current interest. May be repeated up to 30 credit hours.

MCEN 5930 - Professional Internship
Primary Instructor - Spring 2023
This class provides a structure for Mechanical Engineering graduate students to receive academic credit for internships with industry partners that have an academic component to them suitable for graduate-level work. Participation in the program will consist of an internship agreement between a student and an industry partner who will employ the student in a role that supports the academic goals of the internship. Instructor participation will include facilitation of mid-term and final assessments of student performance as well as support for any academic-related issues that may arise during the internship period. May be taken during any term following initial enrollment and participation in ME graduate programs. Department permission required to enroll. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.

MCEN 6949 - Master's Candidate for Degree
Primary Instructor - Fall 2019 / Summer 2023
Registration intended for students preparing for a thesis defense, final examination, culminating activity, or completion of degree.

MCEN 6959 - Master's Thesis
Primary Instructor - Fall 2019 / Spring 2023

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