Dr. Joel Carlos Huegel West is temporarily serving as Director of the Delegation in Boston of the Tecnologico de Monterrey and as a visiting professor at Tufts University. He is a professor of mechatronics and mechanics and leads the Biomechatronics Laboratory in Guadalajara. He co-hosted the Extreme Bionics Project with Dr. Hugh Herr of MIT and was an MIT affiliate from 2017 to 2024. He served as president of the Tecnológico de Monterrey's Classification Committee from 2022 to 2024. He is also president of the board of the social enterprise Tecnologías al Servicio de la Comunidad, A.C., founded by faculty, students, and alumni. He is a tenured professor (2023) and researcher (SNI Level 2 - 2025-2029) at the School of Engineering and Sciences (EIC) of Tec de Monterrey in Guadalajara. In 2018, he was a visiting professor at MIT in Boston, USA. He received the Inspiring Professor award in 2016 and 2020 for his teaching performance, intellectual vitality, and service. He is also a researcher with the Cyber-Physical Systems Research Group and a member of the faculty of the graduate program in Engineering Sciences. He received his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Rice University in Houston, Texas (2009). His dissertation topic was the use of robotics for training and rehabilitation of stroke patients.
His education includes a technical degree in industrial design and a degree in applied mechanical engineering from LeTourneau University in Texas. After completing his master's degree at the University of Washington in 1998, he worked as a product engineer at General Dynamics in the area of parabolic antennas for satellite communication.
Originally from Mexico City, Huegel has lived in three cities in Mexico, five cities in the United States, Shanghai, China, and Kathmandu, Nepal. His passion for teaching has led him to teach on three continents and for more than 30 years.
jhuegel@tec.mx
