Director, School of Engineering Graduate Program

Professor, Electrical & Biomedical Engineering

Office Address: 253 Kennedy Hall of Engineering
Phone: (616) 331-6267
Email: [email protected]

Field of Study: Electrical and Biomedical Engineering

Brief Biography:  Dr. Samhita Rhodes is the Director of the Engineering Graduate Program at Grand Valley State University.  Dr. Rhodes’ expertise is in biomedical signal modeling and advanced image processing techniques. Her collaborative work includes analysis of EEG and ECoG signals to model mechanisms of epilepsy with neurosurgeons at Spectrum Health, quantifying the benefits of power mobility training in children with multiple developmental disorders, applying image processing techniques to develop algorithms for CT image registration, and analyzing neural correlates of postural stability from EMG signals with researchers in the Biomechanics Performance Laboratory. As a recipient of an American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant, she has investigated advanced signal processing techniques to characterize cardiac dysrhythmias. She is an alumna of the prestigious Leadership Development Institute organized by the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) in partnership with the Clare Boothe Luce program focusing on advancing women in STEM higher education. In 2024, she received the Glenn A. Niemeyer Award, GVSU’s highest faculty honor, recognizing her excellence, enthusiasm, and dedication to teaching, scholarship, and service.

In 2010, Dr. Rhodes started the undergraduate minor in Biomedical Engineering. Together with Dr. Farris, she was awarded $700,000 in NSF funding to develop a Master’s program in the same field. In 2019, under her leadership, the university approved a new undergraduate major in Biomedical Engineering and she served as the chair of the BME curriculum committee. Dr. Rhodes teaches classes at all academic levels, undergraduate and graduate, in programming, mathematical modeling, and linear and nonlinear biomedical signal and image processing.

Dr. Rhodes is a co-organizer of the Roger That! Conference, an event that celebrates space exploration and honors Grand Rapids native astronaut Roger Chaffee. Designed to inspire K-12 students in STEM, the conference brings together a shared love for space and exploration. Alongside GVSU faculty from Physics and Anthropology, and with support from the Grand Rapids Public Museum, this STEAM conference attracts distinguished speakers from around the world, including scientists, authors, and astronauts.

Dr. Rhodes has represented the Padnos College of Engineering on the University Academic Senate and Executive Committee of the Senate, the Graduate Council, and the University Curriculum Committee. She has also served as chair of the Integrated Engineering program and led the effort to redesign the freshman engineering curriculum. She served as the Assistant Director of the School of Engineering for 4 years where she started the Career Development Committee to support pre-tenure faculty, and the Student Success Initiative to coordinate retention efforts.

Degrees: Dr. Rhodes has a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Pune, India, and after earning her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Marquette University, Wisconsin, she completed a 3-year postdoctoral fellowship in Anesthesiology Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin where she developed mathematical models to explore the effects of age and hyperthermia on cardiac function.

Recent Publications:

1. Tipton N, Alderink G, Rhodes SS. Approximate Entropy and Velocity of Center of Pressure to Determine Postural Stability: A Pilot Study. Applied Sciences. 2023; 13(16):9259, doi: 10.3390/app1316925.
2. Ojha A, Alderink G, Rhodes SS. Coherence between Electromyographic signals of Anterior Tibialis, Soleus, and Gastrocnemius during Standing Balance Tasks. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience: Motor Neuroscience. 2023, v17:1042758, doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1042758.
3. Kenyon LK, Farris JP, Aldrich NJ, Usoro J, Rhodes SS Changes in EEG Activity in Response to Power Mobility Training: A Pilot Project. Physiotherapy Canada. 2019, 73 (3): 260-270, doi: 0.3138/ptc-2018-0092.
4. Kenyon LK, Farris JP, Aldrich NJ, Rhodes SS.  Does power mobility training impact a child’s mastery motivation and spectrum of EEG activity? An exploratory project.  Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. August 2017, v13(7): 665-673, doi: 10.1080/17483107.2017.1369587,
5. Rhodes SS, Camara AKS, Aldakkak M, Heisner JS, Stowe DF.  . Stretch-induced increase in cardiac contractility is independent of myocyte Ca²⁺ while block of stretch channels by streptomycin improves contractility after ischemic stunning. Physiol Rep, 3 (8), 2015, e12486, doi: 10.14814/phy2.12486