Noah J. Marchal
e: st@istics.org 
t: 773-23-gyrus

Research Background

Human Environmental Interaction 

Computational mediation of human perception and action using: [I] Biophysics, [II] Kinematics, [III] Tele-operational robotics, and [IV] Mobile technologies.

Motor Planning and Execution in Humans

Cognitive and neural relations between human motor planning and execution using a variety of experimental approaches, including: [I] Electrophysiology [II] Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, [III| Functional Brain Imaging (fMRI). 

Work Experience

        Research Assistant, University of Missouri at Columbia - 2017-Present     
        Arts & Sciences Computational Resources Team (ASCRT), Division of IT.

        Research Engineer, University of Missouri at Columbia - 2016-Present     
        Rehabilitation Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychological Sciences.
        
        Research Engineer, Washington University in St. Louis - 2015-2016     
        Program in Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine.
 
        Lead Research Specialist, University of Missouri - 2011-2015
        Rehabilitation Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychological Sciences.

        Adjunct Faculty Research Assistant, University of Oregon - 2009-2011
        Human Neuroimaging and TMS Laboratory, Psychology Department.

        Junior Research Specialist, University of California - 2007-2009
        Music and Cognition Laboratory, Center for Mind and Brain.

        Computational Engineer, SUNY, Purchase College - 2004-2005
        New Media Studies Program, Department of Natural Sciences.

        Student Computer Lab Technician, School of the Art Institute of Chicago - 2002-2004
        Computational Resources and Information Technology Department.

Education 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Troy, NY. - MFA, 2007
Integrative Electronic Arts Department (iEAR)

School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Chicago, IL. - BFA, 2004
Art Technology Studies Program

Publications 

Grasping with the Press of a Button: Grasp-selective Responses in the Human Anterior Intraparietal Sulcus Depend on Nonarbitrary Casual Relationships Between Hand Movements and End-effector Actions. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Dec.2014. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25436672

Awards 

Rockefeller New Media Fellowship Nominee - 2008
Humanities, Arts, Architecture, and Social Sciences Fellowship, RPI - 2005, 2006, 2007
School of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant, RPI - 2005, 2006
BFA Fellowship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago - 2004

Poster Presentations

Hansen, M.D., Marchal, N., & Frey, S.H. 2011. Neural Encoding of Teleoperated Reaching and Grasping Using a Button-controlled Robotic Arm. Poster presented at the 41st annual meeting of Society for Neuroscience, Washington, D.C.

Hansen, M. D., Marchal, N., & Frey, S. H. 2010. Parieto-premotor Contributions to Planning and Execution of Grasping Movements. Poster presented at the 40th annual meeting of Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA.

Technical Skills

Data Analysis 
PASW, Microsoft Excel, FSL, Caret, CED Signal, XNAT, NiPYPE, NDI First Principles, National Instruments Labview.

Experiment Control 
Cedrus Superlab, Neuro-Behavioral Systems Presentation, Qualtrics, E-Prime, PsychoPy. 

Programming Environments and Languages
Bash, Basic, Cocoa, HTML, CSS, Markdown, Max/MSP, Python, R, Perl, PHP, SQL, Bash, Max/MSP, Neuro-Behavioral PCL.

Electronics
Programmable Logic Controllers, PCB design and assembly, Transistor logical circuitry 

Systems Administration
Windows: SCCM, Active Directory, XP/7/10 Desktops, Instrument and Network connectivity, Symantec Ghost.

Unix and MacOS: TORQUE and HTCondor cluster configuration, LAMP installation, Firewall/IPTables, RSnapshot, SSH, AutoFS, NFS, MacPorts/Homebrew/Apt/Yum package managers.

Data Recording and Stimulus Hardware
Biosemi EEG system, NDI Optotrak and Polaris tracking, Zebris motion capture, Brainsight TMS coil tracking system, BioPac biophysical recording units, Magstim TMS stimulators, National Instruments DAQ/AD units, CED Micro-3 DAQ and Power-1902 EMG amplifiers, Coulborn Instruments analog amplifiers.

Research Projects 

Kinematics of Reach-to-Grasp in Long-Term Users of Arm Prosthetics, University of  Missouri, 2016-2017. Develop experiment control hardware and software for recording kinematic modulation of grip aperture of prosthetic and unaffected hands during reach to grasp movements, with Dr. Scott Frey and Dr. Daniela Mattos

Modulation of Grip Force by Amputees using Prosthetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 2015-2016. Design experimental measurement device and program for recording rate of modulation grip forces by healthy control and amputee participants for investigating anticipatory scaling of grip-to-load force transfers across affected and intact hand, with Dr. Scott Frey and Dr. Daniela Mattos 

Cortical Excitability in Action Observation through TMS, Washington University School of Medicine, 2015-2016. Author experiment control and analysis software for the evaluation of action observation in healthy participants through the use of TMS to produce and record EMG waveforms, with Dr. Scott Frey and Graduate Researcher Pin-wei Chen.

Is Cortical Reorganization Following Limb Amputation Functionally Relevant and Reversible?, University of  Missouri, 2014-2016. Develop experimental TMS paradigm to evaluate resting and active motor pathways in limb transplant recipients. Produce custom force transducer hardware and control software, with Dr. Scott Frey. 

Neural Correlates of Proprioception During Reach and Grasp Movements, University of  Missouri, 2014-2016. Co-design experiment design and control software, develop fMRI data analysis pipeline for automating analysis workflow, with Dr. Scott Frey and Graduate Researcher Nathan Baune.

The Neural Organization of Tool Use Actions in Humans, University of  Missouri, 2013-2014. Design and production of an illumination and visual fixation MR-compatible display control apparatus. Write software for the control of experimental conditions and collection of behavioral data derived from subject response pads, with Dr. Scott Frey and Dr. Ken Valyear. 

Motor Prediction Based on Anticipatory Force Modulation; University of Missouri, 2012-2014. Developing custom sensor hardware and software for anticipatory grasp force modulation using force sensor resistors and accelerometer programmed in NI Labview environment, with Dr. Scott Frey. 

Postural Knowledge and Action Semantics study; University of Oregon, 2011. Developed fMRI visual stimulus presentation software and conduct fMRI pilot data collection and analysis, with Dr. Maria Mozaz. 

Sensorimotor Reorganization: Children afflicted with Spastic Hemiparetic Cerebral Palsy; Oregon Health and Science University, 2010-present. Preprocessing and quantitative analysis of functional MRI data, with Dr. Scott Frey and Dr. Huiling Peng. 

Independent Component Analysis (ICA) Qualtrics Training Module; University of Oregon, 2010. Developed software for detection of MR residual artifacts in the preprocessing of fMRI data, with Dr. Kristen Macuga. 

Behavioral Encoding for Rhythmic Tapping; University of California, 2008. Developed Max/MSP software for human motor kinematic analysis during dance motions and musical accompaniment, with Dr. Petr Janata. 

Microbiology and Tissue Culturing Laboratory; Center for Bio-Media, Troy, NY., 2008. Developed and produced two tissue assay control mechanisms using C++ software and custom hardware to create bio-reactor environments for grafting rat and human epidermal cells. 

Guest lecturer, Department of Natural Sciences; SUNY Purchase College, 2007. Presentations on ecophysiology and robotics, and gave seminar on interactive programming and sensory control integration of plants and robotics. Culminated into graduate thesis on cybernetics and botany.


Teaching Experience

Lecturer, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Graduate Media Skills, Physical Computing and Interactivity

Laboratory Instructor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Media Studio Imaging and Interactive Programming


Teaching Interest - Human, Computer, and Environmental Interactions (HCEI).

Interactive multi-media and installation.
Intersections of Art and Science through computational mediation.
Programing for human interaction and research - experimental design and data collection.
Physical computing - Internet of Things (IOT), microcomputing, and mobile technologies.

Mentors 

Dr. Scott H. Frey
Professor of Psychology. 
Director - Brain Imaging Center. 
University of Missouri.
Psychological Sciences Department, Columbia, MO. 
Freys@missouri.edu 

Dr. Petr Janata
Associate Professor of Psychology. 
University of California at Davis.
Center for Mind and Brain, Davis, CA. 
pjanata@ucdavis.edu 

Shawn Lawson
Professor of Computer Visualization. 
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 
Department of the Arts, Troy, NY.
Lawsos2@rpi.edu 

Dr. Peter Ohring (in memory of.)
Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science. 
State University of New York
Department of Natural Sciences, Purchase, NY.