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In the NoCo

A 'Goldilocks foot' designed by CSU students could offer new options for people who wear prosthetics

A Colorado State University student presents his research at the Multicultural Undergraduate Research Leadership, and Artistry Symposium (MURALS). March 28, 2025. He stand talking to another student.
John Eisele
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Colorado State University Photograph
Colorado State University senior Garrison Hayes led a team of other students who designed what they call the "Goldilocks foot." It's a prosthetic that is designed to be comfortable and perform well, while remaining affordable.

An innovative new prosthetic foot dreamed up by students at Colorado State University could offer new options to amputees and other people with limb differences.

The team behind it calls it the “Goldilocks foot” because it serves as a middle option. It’s more comfortable than cheaper prosthetics but costs less than prosthetics built for running and other competitive sports. The design team says the Goldilocks foot is especially useful for walks and light exercise.

Garrison Hayes worked with a team of engineering undergrads to create the design while he was a senior at CSU. And he drew on his personal experience: His leg was partially amputated to remove cancer when he was a kid.

Hayes graduated from CSU in May with dual bachelor’s degrees in biomedical and mechanical engineering. He spoke with In The NoCo’s Brad Turner earlier this year about why he wanted to create a prosthetic that was affordable, but also durable and comfortable. We’re listening back to that conversation today.

You can also check out our conversation around another innovative idea being tested in Northern Colorado: an experiment in warm-weather cloud seeding that uses an electrical charge instead of chemicals to make it rain.

A prosthetic foot sits on a table surface. The foot is gray and appears to made from a mesh of hexagons.
Courtesy Garrison Hayes
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CSU
The design team behind the "Goldilocks foot" won several CSU student awards for their prosthetic design.

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.
Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.
As the host of KUNC’s news program and podcast In The NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.
Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family’s financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.