By Erik Gomez, Voiland College of Engineering & Architecture intern
PULLMAN, Wash. – Diane Cook, a Washington State University researcher who created one of the first, fully instrumented, smart home test sites and has equipped 100 smart apartments with sensor networks in 10 countries, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
Election is accorded to academics who have demonstrated innovation in creating or facilitating inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.
Cook, who is Huie-Rogers Chair Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, conducts research in data mining and artificial intelligence, focusing on the design of smart homes that use machine learning to provide health monitoring and intervention.
Smart home research uses programmed sensors to monitor, predict and improve quality of life, particularly in elder care. As the U.S. population ages, using technology to address challenges is of increasing interest to the elderly who wish to stay in their homes, care providers and government leaders – especially since assisted living costs can average $70,000 per year.
“Dr. Cook is making a difference in people’s lives through her innovations in elder care and health monitoring,” said Don Bender, interim dean of the WSU Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. “This prestigious honor demonstrates the impact that she is having in addressing our nation’s biggest health challenges.’’
She holds several patents in environmental sensor-driven activity model development. She cofounded Adaptelligence, a startup company that focuses on activity recognition using sensors in wearable and mobile devices. A former graduate student also founded Behaviometrics, which is building a consumer product for elder care that uses an in-home sensing array developed in Cook’s lab.
Ranked in the top 5 percent of her research peers, Cook is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and is a recipient of career and research initiation awards from the National Science Foundation. She received the Anjan Bose Outstanding Researcher of the Year Award from WSU’s Voiland College and was a finalist for the 2016 Geekwire Geek of the Year award.
She is codirector of the National Institute on Aging’s training program in gerontechnology and a director of its artificial laboratory. She has published more than 400 peer-reviewed articles.
The fellows will be inducted on April 5 as part of the Sixth Annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors in Boston.
News media contacts:
Brett Stav, WSU Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture communications, 509-335-8189, brett.stav@wsu.edu
Tina Hilding, WSU Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture communications, 509-335-5095, thilding@wsu.edu
