Darwin Gouwanda received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics Engineering and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Monash University. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia. His research focuses on human motion analysis in sports and activities of daily living using wireless wearable devices, as well as the design and development of rehabilitative and assistive technologies.

He serves as the academic advisor for the student team competing at the Shell Eco-marathon Asia. Under his guidance, the team has garnered multiple accolades, including championship titles in the GTL Prototype category (2014), the CNG Prototype category (2016), and the Global Autonomous Programming Challenge (2021), in addition to several off-track awards such as the Tribology Award (2014), the Spirit of the Shell Eco-marathon Award (2025), and the Data and Telemetry Award (2026).

Dr. Gouwanda is an active member of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) Malaysia Chapter and has held various leadership roles, including Vice Chair (2015), Secretary (2016), and Chapter Chair (2023–2025). He also serves as the Chair of the IEEE International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Sciences (IECBES), a biennial conference organized by IEEE EMBS Malaysia. 

Human motion is a combination of complex tasks executed by the neural system, proprioceptors, and musculoskeletal system. Even though an activity such as reaching and grasping a cup of water may seem trivial to the most of us, it requires the activation of our senses to perceive the location of the cup and the coordination of our hand and arm, and proprioceptors to reach, sense, and grasp the cup firmly; making sure the water does not spill.

My research involves the understanding of human motion complex from an engineering perspective using wireless wearable devices and designing assistive and rehabilitative devices to better coordinate human limbs in performing activities of daily living. Existing research projects include:

1. Characterization of human gait spatio-temporal parameters using wireless inertial measurement unit (IMU)
2. Design and development of ankle rehabilitation robot
3. Development of hand and arm assistive robotic device

• MEC2401 - Dynamics I
• MEC2407 - Electromechanics
• MEC3821 - Introduction to Electric Vehicle Technology
• ENG4701/ENG4702 - Final Year Project A/B