ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Two South Carolina State University scientists earned international recognition for pioneering work in brain-computer interface, a system that allows a person to control a device using their brain signals.
Dr.Liljana Bozinovska and Dr.Stevo Bozinovski were members of a scientific team at Saints Cyril and Methodius University inSkopje, Macedonia, in 1988 that demonstrated the first control of a physical object using signals emanating from a human brain. For their work, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers has recognized them for their work in pioneering a critical field of research.
In 2023, IEEE recognized the team for their achievement with the IEEE Milestone honor, which recognizes a significant pioneering event in science. IEEE is the world’s largest professional society of electrical engineers, computer scientists, medical doctors, and related disciplines.
“The achievements of Dr. Stevo Bozinovski and Dr. Lijana Bozinovska come as no surprise to the academic community at SC State University,” said Dr. Frederick Evans, SC State provost and vice president of academic affairs. “Both professors are longtime researchers and practitioners in their respective academic disciplines.”
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Bozinovska is now a professor in SC State’s Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, and Bozinovski is a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Mathematics. The third team member was Mihail Sestakov, who now resides in Australia.
“I observed the professors demonstrate their research over the years while attending the quarterly IEEE meetings held on campus,” Evans said. “This Milestone honor of achievement in brain-controlled robotics speaks to the quality of faculty that teach our students in preparation for the workforce and graduate education.”
The three scientists demonstrated that a human brain can control the movement of a mobile robot using EEG signals. This achievement was published at the IEEE Conference on Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society in New Orleans in 1988, making it significantly ahead of its time. The second instance of controlling a robot using brain signals occurred 11 years later, in 1999, at Duke University in North Carolina.
This year, 2024, IEEE also honored Bozinovski with the Life Member Individual Service Award by the organization’s Region 3 (southeastern U.S.), taking into account his IEEE Milestone recognition.
SC State is the only university in South and North Carolina where faculty members received an IEEE Milestone recognition.
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