Karl Grosh, professor of mechanical engineering and of biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan, was recently inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows.
Grosh was nominated and elected “for significant contributions in cochlear mechanics and MEMs transducers, and leadership in promoting inclusivity and social justice in engineering education.”
AIMBE is a nonprofit organization that is the leading voice and advocate for the value of medical and biological engineering to society. The organization aims to contribute to public policy and education, promote interdisciplinary cooperation, and provide service to the public through medical and biological engineering.
Grosh was inducted into the College of Fellows alongside 171 colleagues in the Class of 2025 at the AIMBE Annual Event held in Arlington, Virginia, on March 31.
“I am honored to join this group,” Grosh said. “I am also pleased to join a group that emphasizes policy awareness and action as this organization does. I hope I can make a positive impact.”
Induction into the AIMBE College of Fellows is one of the highest professional honors for medical and biological engineers. Composed of the top 2% of engineers in these fields, membership in the College of Fellows recognizes professionals who have made significant contributions to “engineering and medicine, research, practice, or education.”
Grosh’s research focuses on studying the mechanics of the cochlea, the organ in the inner ear responsible for converting sound into neural stimulation sent to the brain. His research group has built a mathematical model that describes the response of the cochlea to external acoustic stimulation, which allows researchers to better understand how classes of signals, such as speech and music, are processed in the cochlea.
“We hope that this will lead to better noninvasive diagnostic methods for accurately interrogating hearing health,” Grosh said.
His work also includes the design of acoustic sensors half the size of a rice kernel, which are part of an effort to create completely implantable cochlear implants and hearing aids. The sensors would make device use easier, more versatile, and make the device invisible.
As an AIMBE Fellow, Grosh joins a prestigious group of professionals, including four Nobel Prize laureates, 27 Presidential Medal of Science and/or Technology and Innovation awardees, and numerous members of the National Academies of Engineering, Medicine, and Sciences.
