Francisco Valero-Cuevas

Francisco Javier Valero-Cuevas, born in 1964, is an engineer of Mexican origin who is a professor at the University of Southern California, with appointments in biomedical engineering, biokinesiology and physical therapy, aerospace and mechanical engineering, computer science and electrical engineering. He is known for his work on how the human hand works and for its clinical applications. In 2000 he invented the strength-dexterity test for assessing hand function, available as a device, and in 2015 he founded Neuromuscular Dynamics, LLC around such devices. He studied engineering at Swarthmore College, took a master's degree in mechanical engineering at Queen's University and a doctorate at Stanford University in 1997, and taught at Cornell University before moving to USC. He is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and wrote a textbook on the mathematical foundations of motor control and biomechanics.