History, Engineering’s Kassel Hand Project wins Digital Innovation Award
The Renaissance Society of America recognized Auburn University’s interdisciplinary Kassel Hand Project, in which historians and engineers worked together to recreate a 16th-century mechanical limb for educational purposes, with its 2026 Digital Innovation Award.
The Digital Innovation Award recognizes excellence in digital projects that support the study of the Renaissance.
Associate Professor of History Heidi Hausse, alongside Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Chad Rose, led the team of researchers to create 3D-printed models of the mechanical hand to be used in classrooms, museums, medical settings and more.
Mechanical engineering graduate student Peden Jones and computer science student Anakin Natter developed the working models of the hand.
History doctoral candidate Stuart Simms served as the project’s Public History Fellow. He organized the team’s work into a research-based website that allows users to understand the historical background of the Kassel Hand, print and assemble models of the mechanical hand and hear modern perspectives from local prosthesis users about its similarity to prosthetics currently on the market.
Carrie Hill, a digital scholarship librarian at Auburn, served as the project’s digital humanities consultant. Hill’s work on the website’s development incorporated the tools and resources needed to share the team’s findings with researchers and educators on an international scale.
The project’s emphasis on collaboration, innovative use of 3D printing technology and presentation in a usable, educational website earned this latest recognition by the international academic organization. This honor will further raise awareness of how people experienced limb loss and difference in the Renaissance.
Learn more at the Kassel Hand Project website.
Tags: History Research Faculty Students
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