Kevin Otto

Kevin Otto

Dane A. Miller Head and Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Email: BMEHead@purdue.edu

Phone: 765-494-8273
Fax:
Location: West Lafayette

Purdue University
Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering
Martin C. JIschke Hall of Biomedical Engineering
206 S. Martin Jischke Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2032

Personal web site: https://nprlab.org/home/

Education

  • BS, Chemical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
  • MS, Bioengineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
  • PhD, Bioengineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

Biography

Dr. Otto received the BS degree in chemical engineering from Colorado State University (1997), and both the MS degree (2002) and PhD degree (2003) in Bioengineering from Arizona State University. From 2003 to 2004 he was a Research Fellow in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan where his work focused on brain-machine interface systems and implantable devices. From 2004 to 2006 he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Central Systems Laboratory in the Kresge Hearing Research Institute in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Michigan where his work focused on cochlear implants. He was an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor at Purdue University from 2006-2014. An accomplished leader, he served as the Senior Associate Chair of the University of Florida BME Department from 2020-2023, leading the academic programs through the COVID pandemic and initializing ABET Accreditation preparations. He joined Purdue as the Dane A. Miller Head and Professor of Biomedical Engineering in July of 2024. He has served as PI on several multidisciplinary, multi-investigator research projects including a 4-year NIH Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Program U01, and two separate DARPA Programs, a 4-year Targeted Neuroplasticity Training (TNT) Program and a 3-year Reliable Neural Interface Technologies (RE-NET) Program. While faculty at Purdue University he served as the Awards Committee Chair for the Weldon School from 2011-2014 and as the Faculty Advisor for the Weldon School Graduate Student Association from 2007-2014. He was also very active in the Purdue Sigma Xi chapter, serving as the Distinguished Lecture Committee Chair from 2012-2014. A dedicated mentor, he has supervised over 56 post-doctoral and graduate trainees, and over 115 undergraduate students. He has received many honors and recognitions, including the UF Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring Award, the UF BME Service Award, the UF BME Research Award, the Weldon School Faculty Service Award, and the Outstanding Faculty Award from the Weldon School Graduate Student Association. He is a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and has served on numerous editorial and advisory boards.

Research Interests

  • Neural engineering
  • Microdevices for the brain
  • Spine and nerve modulation
  • Bioelectronic medicine

Awards

  • Dane A. Miller Headship, Purdue University, 2024
  • J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research Excellence Award, Purdue University, 2023
  • Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentor Award, University of Florida, 2023
  • Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring Award, 2023
  • Fellow, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), 2022
  • Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), 2020
  • Leadership Network, University of Florida, 2020
  • Term Professorship, University of Florida, 2019
  • J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research Excellence Award, Purdue University, 2018
  • Master Mentor Designation, University of Florida Mentor Academy, 2017
  • Faculty Service Award, Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, 2012
  • Seed for Success, Purdue University 2011
  • Outstanding Faculty Award, Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student Association, 2009
  • Selected Participant of Annual Academie Keck Futures Initiative Conference on “Smart Prosthetics: Exploring Assistive Devices for the Body and Mind”; 2006
  • Institute of Physics Publishing Select Paper, 2005
  • Individual post-Doctoral Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, 2005
  • Kresge Hearing Research Institutional National Research Service Award Fellowship, 2004
  • College of Engineering Research Mentor Award, University of Michigan, 2003
  • Kresge Hearing Research Institutional National Research Service Award Fellowship, 2003
  • IEEE-EMBS Neural Engineering Conference Fellowship, 2003
  • Graduate Academic Scholarship, Arizona State University, 2001
  • Neurosciences Institute Neural Engineering Traineeship, 2000
  • First Place Graduate Student Poster Competition, Arizona State University, 1999
  • Graduate Academic Scholarship, Arizona State University, 1997
  • Honors Degree in Chemical Engineering, Cum Laude, Arizona State University 1997
  • Arthur T, Corey Award Recipient, 1994
  • University Distinguished Scholars Recipient, Colorado State University, 1994
  • Brush Wellman Scholarship Recipient, 1993
  • Danforth Award Recipient, 1993
  • Robert C, Byrd Scholarship Recipient, 1993
  • Runner-up, Mathematics, Sterling Scholars of Central Utah, 1993
  • Tandy Technology Scholar Award, Outstanding Mathematics), 1993
  • Congressional Scholar, Congressional Youth Leadership Council, 1992
  • Hugh O’Brian Youth Foundation Fellow, 1991
  • Eagle Scout Award, 1990

Graduate Students

Qiwei Dong
Elizabeth Su