Jacob Sherman

Biography

I majored in biology as an undergraduate at Cleveland State University. I did some undergraduate research under Dr. Jeffrey Dean for a couple years, where we studied the accuracy of prey capture behaviors of Xenopus laevis frogs. In an effort to explore more interesting research questions, the professor and I collaborated over GitHub to develop a digitization program in Python 3 from the ground up; additionally, we transitioned the lab away from DVD video storage by implementing a network drive and ensuring that even the lab's Windows 98 machines could connect to it. In my time at CSU, I learned a good bit about program development in the context of research, and I got to present some of my findings at a couple poster sessions! I never got around to publishing anything, though.

For a little while after graduating, I worked under Dr. Paul Marasco in his Lab for Bionic Integration at the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute. His research revolved around medical innovations that trick the brain with illusory sensory input — I was very eager to become a part of that, and I hoped to eventually come out of it with some publications under my belt. I left after a few months, though, upon coming to terms with the realization that Paul's expectations of me were far higher than my skillset could get me at the time. For the next seven months or so, I did residential and commercial electrical work full-time as an apprentice, learning the ropes with AC circuitry and getting acclimated with having to think outside the box to find solutions for often frustratingly counterintuitive problems.

Now I'm here! I'm very interested in bioinspired design with respect to mechanisms, especially with respect to the control of mechanisms. I felt that Dr. Astley's lab would be perfect for me to dive back into academia, connect with others with similar interests, refine my existing skills, and learn new skills to equip me to some day facilitate my own biomimetic research.