Hugh Herr Is The Ultimate Bionic Man

47-year old Hugh Herr changes his legs the way most of us change our shoes - One set to walk in, another to climb rocks with, yet another to go for a jog and, the list goes on. And these are not ordinary legs either, but ones made with state of the art materials and technology, so that he can be optimal at everything he does - Making him in our view, the Ultimate Bionic Man!

Hugh's path to superman began early - An avid rock climber since the age of seven, he was ascending New Hampshire's Mount Washington with a partner in 1982 when he got trapped in a blizzard. The lost and disoriented young men spent four days stuck in a ravine before they were finally rescued. While they both survived, the frostbite on Herr's legs was so severe that the doctors had to amputate both, from the knees down.

Oddly enough, this did not disturb the seventeen-year old as much as the fact that a fellow climber had lost his life, while searching for him - A loss that he says motivated him to do something worthwhile with his life.

And, despite losing his legs, Hugh never lost his passion for climbing. However, the ones available were not very good and he had very limited success - He therefore made it his mission in life to develop better artificial limbs and started by pursuing advanced degrees in mechanical engineering and biophysics from MIT and Harvard.

Today, Herr heads the Biomechatronics research group at MIT's media lab whose main mission is to develop prosthetics that seamlessly integrate with the human body, just like real limbs do. He holds (or co holds) 14 patents, including the ones for a computer-controlled artificial knee, as well as the Rheo Knee, the world's first powered ankle-foot prosthesis. He is also the founder and chief technology officer of iWalk, the manufacturer of the world's first bionic lower leg system - The Powerfoot Biom.

As for his passion for rock climbing? it is even more robust now that he can change his legs depending on the kind of mountain he is scaling! In fact, he feels quite sorry for his able bodied fellow-rock climbers, because not only is he more nimble with his artificial legs, but he can also, replace them with better ones when they are worn out!

Resources: NPR.org, myhero.com.