Jordan Nguyen is a Vietnamese-Australian

biomedical engineer Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

whose achievements include creating a mind-controlled wheelchair, and whose technological innovations are targeted at improving the lives of those living with

physical disabilities A physical disability is a limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina. Other physical disability, disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living skills, daily living, such as respiratory ...

. He is a

Keynote Speaker A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...

and

futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abou ...

, with strong views on using technology for maximum positive global impact. His work has gained considerable media attention across Australia, featuring on ABC's

Catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

and Channel 10's The Project.

Education

Growing up in Sydney, Australia, Jordan Nguyen attended Normanhurst Boys' High School on the Upper North Shore. He went on to the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

, where he graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Engineering and First Class Honours. In 2012, he completed his PhD in Biomedical Engineering, and was awarded into the UTS Chancellor's List. For his PhD project, Nguyen developed a mind-controlled wheelchair for people with high-level physical disability. The wheelchair used cameras to observe its surroundings and provided navigation assistance to the operator whilst scanning the user's retinas as the means of delivering commands.

Work

Nguyen has spoken at a range of events across Australia, including

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

events across Sydney, Think Inc., Wired For Wonder, and the international Engineering for Medicine and Biology Conference. Nguyen has worked as a Software engineer for

ResMed ResMed Inc. is a San Diego, California-based medical equipment company. It primarily provides cloud-connectable medical devices for the treatment of sleep apnea (such as CPAP devices and masks), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and o ...

, served on the board of directors for Object: Australian Design Centre, and is currently a member of the board for the NSW Medical Technology Knowledge Hub. He has taught project development in

Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

design, co-founded Remarkable, a technology incubator for disability, and founded Psykinetic, a company aiming to make life-improving technology affordable and accessible. Nguyen has worked closely with the

Cerebral Palsy Alliance Cerebral Palsy Alliance (formerly The Spastic Centre) is an Australian nonprofit organisation helping babies, children, teenagers and adults living with cerebral palsy and other neurological and physical disabilities. Its therapy teams work ...

and with a range of individuals with

Cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

. In 2016, ABC's Catalyst broadcast a two-part documentary on his work to increase 13-year-old Riley's physical independence in spite of his cerebral palsy. In 2016 Nguyen was nominated for Australian of the Year and awarded one of Australia's most innovative engineers He is currently working on improving the early diagnosis of disabilities in infants.

Personal life

Nguyen's father is Hung Nguyen, the former Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at UTS and co-director for the Centre of Health Technologies. Nguyen has three younger siblings, a sister and two brothers, who are triplets. In his third year of university, Nguyen dived into a friend's swimming pool, hit the bottom, and damaged the muscles in his neck. Although he did not break his spine, Nguyen began exploring the options available to quadriplegics. When he discovered how limited they were, he decided to persevere in engineering to help develop technologies for disabilities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Jordan Biomedical engineers Living people Australian bioengineers Australian people of Vietnamese descent Year of birth missing (living people)