Information About

J. Edward Colgate Professor Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Northwestern University 2145 Sheridan Road, Rm. B225 Evanston, IL 60208-3111, USA TEL: 847-491-4264 FAX: 847-491-3915 colgate@northwestern.edu link to CV link to research site S.B., Physics , MIT, (1983) S.M., Mechanical Engineering, MIT (1986) Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, MIT (1988)

Honors and Awards

• Alumnae of Northwestern Professor of Teaching Excellence, September 2003 – August 2006
• Leonardo Da Vinci Award for Contributing Significantly to Design Engineering, 2003. Presented by Design Engineering Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
• Freshman Programs Division (FPD) 2002 Best Paper Award for paper "Enriching Freshman Design Through Collaboration With Professional Designers" by P. Hirsch, J. Anderson, J. E. Colgate, J. Lake, B Shwom, and C. Yarnoff.
• Northwestern University Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award, 2000
• 1998 ASME Material Handling Engineering Division Best Paper Award
• Discover Magazine, 1997 Annual Technology Awards
• Best Conference Paper, 1997 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
• Best Conference Paper, MHED Division, 1998 ASME Material Handling Engineering Division
• Guest Researcher, Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Tsukuba Science City, Japan, 2/96
• Henry Hess Award for outstanding paper by a young author in an ASME journal, 1995
• Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award of the SAE, 1995 Northwestern University Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award
• Associate Editor, IEEE Trans. Robotics and Automation

Robotics; human-machine interaction; haptic interface; cobots

Professor Colgate's principal research interest is the power-level haptic interaction of humans and machines. He is the inventor (with M.A. Peshkin) of cobots, a class of robotic devices intended for direct, physical collaboration with human operators. Cobots have been applied to industrial material handling, rehabilitation, remote manipulation and human factors studies. Current work focuses on the application of cobots to advanced prosthetic limbs. 

Colgate has also worked extensively in the field of haptic display. He pioneered the application of passivity techniques to the study of haptic display stability and performance. Currently, his work in this area focuses on "fingertip haptics." Conventional haptic devices require a user to feel the virtual environment through a probe such as a stylus or thimble. The goal of fingertip haptics is to eliminate the probe and allow the user to feel the virtual environment directly via the fingertips.

Professor Colgate is also quite interested in technology transfer. He is the holder of numerous U.S. patents, and is co-founder of Stanley Cobotics, a manufacturer of human-assist devices for the industrial marketplace, and of Chicago PT, a developer of robotic technologies for physical rehabilitation.  He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Methode Electronics, a manufacturer of component and subsystem devices with manufacturing, design, and testing facilities in the United States, Mexico, Malta, United Kingdom, Germany, Czech Republic, Singapore, and China.

In the classroom

Professor Colgate led a team of faculty from two of Northwestern's largest schools (Engineering and Arts & Sciences) in the development of an ambitious freshman program called "Engineering Design and Communication" (EDC). EDC introduces students to a user-oriented process of engineering design, and it teaches design and technical communication in a highly integrated fashion. EDC is project-based, drawing clients from the university, local community, and local industry. It is a required course for all engineers at Northwestern.

Colgate is the founding director of the Institute for Design Engineering and Applications - IDEA. IDEA manages the Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center and provides a number of courses in engineering design. IDEA offers a Certificate in Engineering Design and a Bachelor's in Manufacturing and Design Engineering (MaDE).

Most recently, Prof. Colgate and Prof. Donald A. Norman have been named the co-Directors of  Northwestern's Segal Design Institute.  Among other activities, the Segal Design Institute is developing a Master of Science degree in Engineering Design and Innovation, as well as a Master’s of Innovation Management and Design (in collaboration with the Kellogg Graduate School of Management).

Selected publications

Cobot Architecture
Haptic display of constrained dynamic systems via admittance displays
Faulring, E.L., Lynch, K.M., Colgate, J.E., Peshkin, M.A..
IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 23(1):101-111, February 2007

The cobotic hand controller: design, control and performance of a novel haptic display
Faulring, E.L., Colgate, J.E., Peshkin, M.A.
International Journal of Robotics Research, 25(11): 1099-1119, November 2006.

Creating the Foundation for an Engineering Design Education
Ann McKenna, J. Edward Colgate, Steven Carr and Gregory Olson
International Journal of Engineering Education, 22(3), 2006

Controlling the Apparent Inertia of Passive Human-Interactive Robots
Tom Worsnopp, Michael Peshkin, Kevin Lynch and J. Edward Colgate
Journal of Dynamics Systems, Measurement and Control, 128(1): 44-52, March 2006

Static Single-Arm Force Generation With Kinematic Constraints
Peng Pan, Michael A. Peshkin, J. Edward Colgate, and Kevin M. Lynch
J Neurophysiol, May 2005; 93: 2752 - 2765.

Mechanics and Control of Swimming:  A Review
J. Edward Colgate and Kevin M. Lynch
IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, 29(3), pp. 660-673, 2004

IDEA:  Implementing Design Throughout the Curriculum
J. Edward Colgate, Ann McKenna and Bruce Ankenman
International Journal of Engineering Education, 20(3), pp. 405-411, 2004

On the Role of Dissipation in Haptic Systems
Brian E. Miller, J. Edward Colgate, Randy A. Freeman
IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, 20(4), pp. 768-771, August 2004