Date: Friday, June 3, 2022
Category: General
The Student Design Challenge is an annual competition held in conjunction with the Annual Conference. Representing a wide variety of disciplines including mechanical, electrical, and biomedical engineering; computer information science; architecture; and physical and occupational therapy, undergraduate and masters level student teams showcase creative and innovative assistive technology designs that help people with disabilities. Entries are judged on originality, quality of design, and usefulness to persons with disabilities.
A committee of assistive technology experts chooses the top SDC teams as finalists to attend the RESNA conference and present in front of a panel of judges. SDC finalists receive a complimentary RESNA student membership, conference registration, and presentation opportunities at both the Student Design Challenge and the Developers Showcase at the Annual Conference. The top 3 finalists, as determined by the judges, are announced at the RESNA Awards Ceremony on the last day of the conference, and receive cash prizes totaling $2,000. The first prize of $1,000 is supported by the Joey Wallace Educational Scholarship Fund, in honor of Joey Wallace, an educator, mentor and beloved RESNA staff person.
SDC winners have frequently moved on to become leaders in the field of assistive technology. "My first introduction to the world of Assistive Technology (AT) and RESNA was in 2012 when my biomedical engineering program chair at UNC recommended that all senior capstone projects enter the competition,” said current Challenge chair and RESNA board member Seong-Hee Yoon, ATP, RET. Ms. Yoon is now Senior Rehabilitation Engineer at Michigan Medicine and Director of Technology & Innovation at UMAISE. “This competition took me from being a novice AT student to a professional who uses their engineering education daily. I love that RESNA recognizes the need to foster and inspire the next generation of AT professionals."
RESNA is pleased to announce the 2022 SDC finalists and the recipient of the RERC on AAC award.
Finalists:
Giovanna Ibarra, Universidad Anáhuac Norte, Mexico, “Marco for Marco”
Madeline Lee, University of Pittsburgh, “Toothbrush Buddy: A toothpaste dispenser for people with motor, cognitive, and/or visual impairments”
Joshua Phelps, Brown University, “Shelbytron: An interactive robot to make pediatric physical therapy more fun”
Sam Rostami, University of California, Irvine, “The Assist Handle: A Device To Conduct Independent Floor-To-Wheelchair Transfers”
Udaya bala Velugoti, Shri Vishnu Engineering College for Women, India, “CARROM Board for Visually Challenged People"
Olivia Wilczek, University of Houston, “SoloTie: A one-handed hair tie developed for patients recovering from a stroke”
Chaniya (Cara) Jaroenkunathum, Carnegie Mellon University, “Assistive Hanger for people with upper extremity impairment”
2022 Rehabilitation Engineering and Research Center (RERC) on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Award Winner:
Riley Desserre, University of Manitoba BMED Technical Society, “Gaming Head Mouse: An adaptive controller for limited mobility”
The RERC on AAC, based at Penn State, is a collaborative center committed to advancing knowledge and producing innovative engineering solutions in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The RERC’s research and development program emphasizes strong tech transfer and employs a comprehensive dissemination plan to improve outcomes for children and adults with both developmental and acquired disabilities across the life span. The center is supported by a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90REGE0014). RESNA thanks the RERC on AAC for their support of the Student Design Challenge.
Find out more information on past SDC winners and finalists!
The 2022 SDC is proudly sponsored by the RESNA Founders Fund. The main purpose of the Founders Fund is to financially enable RESNA to continue its leadership role, focusing on support of new initiatives that will assist RESNA in addressing the challenges of today and tomorrow in the field of rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology.
Find out more information out the RESNA Founders Fund!