In April, the previous Nasa chief, Dr Michael Griffin, joined the University of Alabama in Huntsville as a professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering.

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Ranger, built and programmed in the Biorobotics and Locomotion lab led by Andy Ruina, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, started on the Barton Hall track just after 2 p.m.

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Christian Parigger, associate professor of physics, and Jacqueline Johnson, associate professor of mechanical, aerospace, and biomedical engineering, along with Robert Splinter of Splinter Consultants, have developed the invention.

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