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Friday, April 17, 2009
How I See It
Adaptive technology: Changing lives through engineering
MHT's Galen Moore: Charities score with online fundraising
MHT managing editor Rodney Brown on NECN: 22 tech companies give back to community
MHT Editor Doug Banks on NECN: Decoding the Gen Y workforce
Some folks inside higher education think engineering students just don’t get it when it comes to the human side of the equation. Yet, the fact of the matter is that the human dimension thrives at a new breed of universities, which are now serving up state-of-the-art, adaptive technology courses for civically engaged engineering students who want to make the world a better place for the disabled. A somewhat well-kept secret, these New Age technical programs are becoming increasingly popular at highly regarded engineering schools such as UMass Lowell, MIT, the University of Michigan, and the University of Minnesota.
Uniquely, students and faculty drawn from diverse disciplines such as mechanical and electrical engineering, computer science and health sciences, are creating highly innovative, high-tech inventions. At MIT, students are building a robotic wheelchair that can memorize the layout of an assistive-living center. And at the University of Minnesota, they are designing a customized leg brace able to help a paralyzed patient walk again. At the University of Michigan the focus is on using technology with the human brain to help individuals with physical impairments.
Though assistive technology is offered in classrooms and labs across the nation at several public and private institutions, at UMass Lowell students and patients have had life-changing experiences for over 20 years. These highly individualized projects have produced everything from a voice-activated control center to talking digital photo frames, to customized iPods, and even retinal-scanning communication systems.
With more than 700 projects from around the world under their belts, UML students and faculty in the electrical and computer engineering department have developed special instrumentation and devices to assist people with severe disabilities. For example, UML students played a key role in designing technology for the Leonard Florence Center for Living in Chelsea. Part of a national Green House model, the center will offer smaller, personalized homes as an alternative to an institutional setting. As a prototype urban Green House, the center will also be the first to offer assisted-living facilities designed specifically for patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
According to Barry Berman, executive director of the Leonard Florence Center, such assistive technologies would not be possible without the help of UML students.
Significantly, the UML program encourages engineering students to become more aware of their ability to improve the lives of disabled clients beyond the classroom. Kiersten Lemoine, a UML electrical engineering graduate student says, “The projects give students the experience to know they can make a difference, even for just one person.”
Impressively, UML’s target on community engagement has been recognized by the Carnegie Foundation designation of “community-engaged university” — and the Assistive Technology Program is one of the top reasons the university has received the honor. Noting the university’s special mission and community-oriented purpose, Chancellor Marty Meehan proudly states, “UMass Lowell has a long history of innovative partnerships that have benefited the people in our region as well as our students.
James Martin is a professor at Mount Ida College. James E. Samels is president and CEO of The Education Alliance, a national higher ed consulting firm. Their most recent book is “Turnaround: Leading Stressed Colleges and Universities to Excellence” (Johns Hopkins, 2009).
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