Engineering to enhance human mobility, play, and exploration
We are excited to announce that PhD Candidate Mackenzie Pitts is a recipient of the 2026-2027 Gatzert Child Welfare Fellowship. This UW fellowship is awarded to doctoral candidates as they write their dissertation on research that supports children with disabilities. With this award that covers one quarter of funding, Mackenzie will be dedicated to improving the quality of her work in preparation for her defense.
We’re excited to share that Madeleine McCreary was selected as a recipient of the ASB student travel award for her abstract titled “Effects of Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation Amplitude on Gait in Children with Cerebral Palsy.” Her work was recognized by the ASB community for its contribution to pediatric neuromodulation research. Congratulations, Madeleine!
We’re thrilled to share that Alisha Bose, an undergraduate in the Neuromechanics & Mobility Lab, has been honored with the Dennis Lang Award from the University of Washington Disability Studies Program.
Alisha graduated with a degree in Human Centered Design & Engineering and a minor in Disability Studies, and this award recognizes her outstanding academic work and spirited commitment to the field. The Dennis Lang Award celebrates the legacy of Dennis Lang, a co-founder of the UW Disability Studies Program, whose dedication and service were instrumental in shaping the program and its community.
Alisha received a merit-based monetary award and was recognized at the Disability Studies convocation on June 5. She’ll be starting the Master of Information Management and Systems (MIMS) program at UC Berkeley this fall.
Congratulations, Alisha! Your work continues to inspire and advance the values of inclusion, equity, and excellence in disability studies.
Huge congratulations to Dr. Mia Hoffman, recipient of the University of Washington’s 2026 Graduate School Medal – awarded to doctoral graduates whose research and civic engagement drive real social change.
Mia’s dissertation grew out of a simple question: how could a toddler with cerebral palsy play alongside her sibling? That question led to the Switch Kit, a low-cost, customizable system that helps children with motor disabilities engage in play, co-designed with families, clinicians, and speech-language pathologists. Her leadership of HuskyADAPT helped bring adapted toys to families across Washington State.
Mia earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, co-advised by our own Dr. Kat Steele and Dr. Heather Feldner, and was also named to this year’s Husky 100. She’s headed to Ohio State for a postdoctoral fellowship, and eventually hopes to launch her own lab focused on mobility, accessibility, and play.
Congratulations, Dr. Hoffman – we can’t wait to see what’s next!
Read the full feature from the UW Graduate School.
We were proud to celebrate Dr. Kat Steele being named a 2026 Fellow of the American Society of Biomechanics (ASB), one of the society’s highest honors recognizing sustained and impactful contributions to the field.
Kat will be inducted at the 2026 ASB Annual Business Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, held in conjunction with the World Congress of Biomechanics (WCB). She joins an outstanding cohort of new Fellows whose work has advanced biomechanics research, education, and service.
Congratulations to Kat on this well‑deserved recognition!