Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Projects for the Disabled

9704215埃伯哈特这笔赠款将支持阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校(UAB)机械工程(ME)专业学生的高级设计项目，以帮助残疾人士。这些项目旨在提供替代的、低成本的、定制设计的设备和软件，这些设备和软件将直接帮助特定的残疾人或个人群体。它们包括协助环境控制的设备、通信增强、用于举起或抓取的机动设备，以及结合了视觉和听觉警告的警报系统，仅举几例。伯明翰的联合脑瘫(UCP)和阿拉巴马州康复服务部(ADRS)提供了项目想法。此外，还建立了跨校区合作，包括职业治疗、西班牙康复、整形外科和伤害控制与研究中心，他们提供的项目想法结合了工程学和生命科学的深度。一个由三人组成的咨询委员会将确保充分的学生监督和项目设备的质量发展。该委员会将包括PI，一名在项目领域具有专业知识的ME教员，以及一名来自UCP、ADR或UAB的合作投资人。这些设计将由残疾人士建造、测试和使用，这将为工科学生提供有意义的设计体验，同时服务于残疾社区。这种形式的高知名度，资助的高级设计项目将作为一种特殊的招聘工具，以吸引更好的学生进入UAB工程学院。它将进一步加强工程学与UAB医院之间的合作联系，并通过UAB生物医学工程部促进康复工程计划中的产业轨道。与当地行业的联系将提高UAB的地区知名度，将加强与当地社区的合作，使双方受益，并将增加ME毕业生的就业机会。这些联系将有助于在更大程度上利用来自行业、政府机构和基金会的资金，以支持这一有价值的努力。***

9704215 Eberhardt This grant will support senior design projects to aid persons with disabilities, for Mechanical Engineering (ME) students, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Projects are geared toward providing alternative, low cost, custom designed devices and software that will directly aid specific disabled individuals or groups of individuals. They include devices to assist in environmental control, communication augmentation, motorized devices for lifting or grabbing and alarm systems which combine visual and auditory warnings, just to name a few. Project ideas have been provided by United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of Birmingham and the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS). In addition, a cross-UAB-campus collaboration has been established including Occupational Therapy, Spain Rehabilitation, Orthopedic Surgery and the Injury Control and Research Center, who have provided project ideas which combine depth in both engineering and life sciences. A three-member advisement committee will ensure adequate student supervision and quality development of the project device. This committee will include the PI, one ME faculty with expertise in the project area, and a collaborating investieator from UCP, ADRS or UAB. The fact that the designs will be constructed, tested and used by the disabled individuals will provide meaningful design experience for the engineering student while serving the disabled community. This form of highly visible, funded senior design projects will serve as an exceptional recruiting tool to attract better students to the UAB School of Engineering. It will further strengthen the collaborative link between Engineering and the UAB Hospital and promote a planned industrial track in Rehabilitation Engineering through the UAB Department of Biomedical Engineering. Links with local industry will improve regional visibility of UAB, will increase cooperation with the local community to the benefit of both, and will increase employment opportunities for graduating ME seniors. These same links will serve to leverage funding at greater levels from industry, government agencies and foundations to support this worthwhile effort. ***