Welcome to the RESNA 2005, 25 years of Rehabilitation Engineering ... looking forward to new horizons. The Proceedings of this conference are a valuable asset and a tangible archive of our body of knowledge in 2005. Given the speed of change, it is fun to think what this "cutting-edge" body of knowledge will look like in the year 2055, or 3005.
What will not change is the commitment of people who share the interest in persons with a disability and the use of technology. In 2005 these areas of interest include in - depth exploration of many different areas of application:
- Computer Applications & Communication
- Job & Environmental Accommodations
- Outcome and Quantitative Measurement
- Public Policy
- Seating and Mobility
- Technology for Cognitive & Sensory Impairments
The RESNA Conference and these Proceedings are a reflection of the commitment of many people. As the Conference Chairperson, I would like to thank all who took the time to gather their thoughts, submit their work for peer review and dedicated themselves to share with you - the authors of all the papers included in these proceedings. I would also like to thank all of those involved in the review process - our Track Chairs - Shirley Fitzgerald (Research Track), Ray Grott (Practice Track) and Jamie Prioli (Public Policy Track) and our topic coordinators: Denis Anson, Mike Babinec, Nell Bailey, Alisa Brownlee, Katya Hill, Ed LoPresti, Nancy Meidenbauer, Alex Midhailidis, Anita Perr, Skip Simonds, Lisa Simone, and Glenn Hedman and David Law.
On behalf of the entire conference planning committee, we would especially like to recognize the extraordinary efforts of Marybeth Leongini, Rosina Romano, Tonya Vaughn and Larry Pencak whose daily efforts make the implementation of so many plans actually come together to create our terrific conference.
Our last thanks is to our incredibly important Proceedings Editor and Creator - Denis Anson, the whiz who makes all the digital things happen.
Enjoy and share - remember to plug in these proceedings as you both prepare for the upcoming conference and when you reflect (and need to recover) some of the terrific work being done in the field.
Barbara Crane
On Behalf of the 2005 Conference Planning Committee