def get_elem_type( mjModel, elem_name ):
    """
        The naming convention of our mujoco simulation is "{elem}_name", where elem = [geom, site, body]
        The string before the first underbar '_' describes the elem(ent) of the model.
        This function parses the string and returns the first string (i.e., the element of the model)
    """
    return elem_name.split( '_' )[ 0 ]                                      # Parse and get the first string before "_"