Next Step//
　　Herr had never been much interested in school.// His goal was to be the best mountain climber in the world.// He had no interest in even going to college.//
　　Inspired by his accident,/Herr decided to attend college,/where he enrolled in math and science courses.// He even earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering/at MIT in 1993,/followed by a Ph.D. at Harvard in biophysics.// Since then,/Herr has produced a string of breakthrough products,/starting with a computer-controlled artificial knee in 2003.// In 2004,/he created the biomechatronics group at MIT,/a now 40-person R&D lab/drawing on the fields of biology,/mechanics,/and electronics/to restore function to those who have lost it.//
　　In 2007,/the team produced powered bionic limbs/that allow an amputee/to walk with speed and effort/comparable to people with biological legs.// The ankle system is manufactured/by a private company Herr started.//
　　In 2016,/Herr advanced another of his lab’s goals:/to improve human performance/“beyond what nature intends”/by creating an innovative device/that saves energy when you are walking.// The implications are vast/for people who want to get to places faster,/or people who want to conserve energy on a long walk.//
　　In the near future,/Herr and his colleagues at the MIT center/are committed to treating paralysis/caused by damage to the spinal cord.// Herr’s goal is to develop a synthetic spinal cord/that aids the original.//
　　Herr sees a future/where technology not only helps eliminate disability/but also increases human potential.// He believes his research will extend far beyond limb replacement/and will fundamentally redefine what it means to be human.//