Alexander Leonessa, Virginia Tech (IMAGE) Virginia Tech Caption Alexander Leonessa, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, received an NSF Career grant to support his work to develop a small device that could use functional electrical stimulation on the paralyzed vocal folds of stroke patients or others who have lost the ability to talk, or even swallow and breathe properly. Credit Virginia Tech Photo Usage Restrictions The photo of Dr. Leonessa may be used with any discussion or report about his research. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.