A Bike For Leah
Posted on April 30th, 2018 by Mary Lord
Leah Xiao-Chan O’Keefe wanted a “big kid” bike but she couldn’t shift gears or brake safely because her fingers did not extend past the first knuckle. An Ohio State University mechanical engineering professor heard Leah’s story and put two of his graduate students, both avid cyclists, on the case.
Filed under: K-12 Outreach Programs, Special Features | Comments Off on A Bike For Leah
Tags: adaptive technologies, bicycle, Design, disability, engineering technology, Ohio State University, service learning
Like engineers in Santa’s workshop, Ohio State University students and faculty are working with families in a unique Toy Adaptation Program to “hack” popular electronic toys so that children with special needs can enjoy them. 
Paralympic champion and University of Pittsburgh assistive-technology pioneer Rory Cooper wants people with disabilities to see engineering as a great career. 
Since 2008, Americans with disabilities have earned more doctorates in science and engineering fields than in non-S&E fields. To mark National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2013, the American Society of Engineering Education salutes these distinguished engineering educators and researchers.
Students in grades 6 to 8 gain an understanding of physical limitations and the biomedical engineering design process by performing a variety of tasks without using their thumbs, eyes, or legs, then working in teams to create or improve and adaptive device.
Could an approach developed to help deaf and hearing-impaired undergraduates overcome educational disadvantages work for anyone–including mainstream K-12 students who struggle with reading and math? Scott Bellinger, an instructor at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, America’s only technical college for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, thinks so.
When University of California, Berkeley senior Austin Whitney walked across the stage at graduation on May 14, 2011, it was more than just a personal triumph. His rise from a wheelchair represented a triumph for paralyzed people everywhere–and for engineers whose “adaptive technology” designs have helped disabled individuals overcome mobility limitations.
A British product-design student has invented a wheel-chair alternative whose legs can lift up and step over obstacles. Martin Harris, 21, hopes his invention will give people with mobility issues more freedom. He also believes his design, which was inspired by the kinetic sculpture of Dutch engineer-artist Theo Jansen, has potential uses in agricultural machinery or military vehicles. 
