Amber Rothe decided to meld two passions and double major in biomedical engineering and computer engineering so she could achieve her dreams of designing medical devices that help make a difference in people’s lives. This summer she did exactly that at her internship with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio where she worked on developing the user interface for the “Gripper,” a device used to track motion.

“The Gripper had two force transducers with an electromagnet between them,” explained Rothe.  “A patient could lift the top portion off the bottom portion against the resistance of the electromagnet. The lift and grip force produced by patients with a motion disorder such as Parkinson's disease is different from that produced by an unaffected person, so researchers can use this device to quantitatively track motion disorders. I created a new user interface for this device, which allows the researcher to collect, view and save the data.”

Although it was challenging to ensure the Gripper’s user interface was intuitive, knowing she made a difference was worth the challenge. “The most rewarding part is knowing that I am contributing to research that will help people with movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.”

Rothe also spent several summers interning at Rockwell Automation. She got her start at Rockwell through its high school rotation program and grew as an intern. She was an integral team member and worked on a variety of user interface projects that enhanced the workflow for other engineers.

These internship experiences empowered Rothe to put her course work into practice and enhance her skills. As a double major, she enjoys the broadness of biomedical engineering as well as the intricacy of computer engineering. “I love that biomedical engineering is so diverse. We get to learn a little about everything from circuits, to physiology, to fluid mechanics, to statistics. At the same time, I love how in computer engineering I get to learn about one thing—computers—very deeply, and understand them on a circuits level, on a logic level, on the assembly level, at the operating system level and software level.”

Rothe’s exploration and curiosity doesn’t stop there. She is an active member of several campus groups. She serves as the president of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) MSOE student chapter, which hosts a variety of speaker events, workshops and social events to help members build their network, plan their career and gain skills to be successful. “I love helping students develop as professionals,” said Rothe.

She also is the outreach lead for Lunabotics, MSOE’s NASA Robotic Mining Competition team. She helps organize events where the team shares its passion for STEM, robotics and NASA with kids in the Milwaukee community. In addition, she is the corresponding secretary for Tau Beta Pi and is a member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Eta Kappa Nu and Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB).

Outside of work, school and clubs, Rothe helps mentor a high school robotics team. “I love passing on my passion to younger students!” She also enjoys going to MSOE events and playing pub trivia at local restaurants with her friends. Rothe is originally from Brookfield, Wisconsin and is the daughter of two MSOE alumni who met at the university.