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Upcoming Webinars for Graduate Students and Academics

Keshia AccessEngineering, News, Projects December 2, 2015October 12, 2021

Join us for the following AccessEngineering Webinars! If you would like to attend one or more, please register for the respective topic by following the link provided. (Please note, all of the webinars are scheduled in Eastern Daylight Time)

Choosing and Delivering a High Quality Online Program
Friday, Dec 4th, 2015 11:00 am – 12:00 pm (EDT)

About the Webinar:
This webinar will focus on three aspects of distance education: (1) how Kettering University Online develops high quality online programs; (2) how can students choose a high quality online program to enroll; and (3) how can potential instructors find a high quality institution to teach. There will be presentations and Q&A sessions about each aspect.

Presenter: Dr. Christine Wallace

AccessEngineering: Strategies to support individuals with disabilities pursuing careers in engineering – Part 1
Monday, December 7th, 2015 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (EDT)

About the Webinar:
This webinar focuses on a new NSF initiative, AccessEngineering, which (1) supports and promotes individuals with disabilities in pursuing engineering, and (2) integrates universal design and accessibility topics into the engineering curriculum. In particular, this webinar will discuss topics including communication tips and how you can best support individuals with disabilities in engineering, and best practices for making makerspaces, labs and machine shops accessible.

Presenters: Sheryl Burgstahler, Richard Ladner, Maya Cakmak, Kat Steele, Brianna Blaser

Patents: An Introduction for Inventors, Part One
Friday, December 11th, 2015 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (EDT)

About the Webinar:
This presentation series is a basic introduction to patents and an overview of issues and practices to be considered by prospective patent inventors and patent owners. Part One focuses on providing a basic overview of patents and need-to-know information for inventors to streamline the patenting process. The basic overview explains what patents are, how patents relate to other forms of intellectual property, what requirements must be met for patenting an invention in the U.S., basic considerations for patenting an invention internationally, and how patents provide value to their owners. The overview of information for inventors covers inventorship and ownership issues, when to file for a patent, how to avoid sinking a patent application with one’s own publications, and various good practices for inventors to follow regarding disclosures and record-keeping.

Presenter: Michael Gamble

AccessEngineering: Strategies to support individuals with disabilities pursuing careers in engineering – Part 2
Tuesday, January 19th, 2016 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (EDT)

Presenters: Sheryl Burgstahler, Richard Ladner, Maya Cakmak, Kat Steele

How to Create a Makerspace – Campus Technology

Keshia Media, News November 30, 2015October 12, 2021Makerspaces

Campus Technology, an online information source for higher education, features an interview with our own Dr. Steele about how to create a Makerspace. Find out what a Makerspace is, why they are created, and what kind of space is important. Here is a quote of Dr. Steele’s pulled from the article by Leila Meyer. Click HERE to read the article in full.

Having an outlet where you can work with teams, find people with different backgrounds and use this space to turn ideas into reality is really powerful for the students, as both an educational space to complement their courses and a space where they can really dive deep and figure out what their passions are and what they want to create for the world.”

SSM Lee, D Gaebler-Spira, LQ Zhang, WZ Rymer, KM Steele, (2016) “Use of shear wave ultrasound elastography to quantify muscle properties in cerebral palsy.” Clinical Biomechanics

Dr. Steele JournalArticle, MotorControl, UbiquitousRehabilitation November 6, 2015October 12, 2021Cerebral Palsy, Muscle, Ultrasonography

Journal article in Clinical Biomechanics:

Kat Steele partnered with Sabrina Lee from Northwestern University and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to investigate shearwave ultrasound elastography as a new tool to quantify changes in muscle properties in cerebral palsy.

Abstract: Individuals with cerebral palsy tend to have altered muscle architecture and composition, but little is known about the muscle material properties, specifically stiffness. Shear wave ultrasound elastography allows shear wave speed, which is related to stiffness, to be measured in vivo in individual muscles. Our aim was to evaluate the material properties, specifically stiffness, as measured by shear wave speed of the medial gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy across a range of ankle torques and positions, and fascicle strains. Shear wave speed was measured bilaterally in the medial gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior over a range of ankle positions and torques using shear wave ultrasound elastography in eight individuals with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. B-mode ultrasound was used to measure muscle thickness and fascicle strain. Shear waves traveled faster in the medial gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior of the more-affected limb by 14% (P = 0.024) and 20% (P = 0.03), respectively, when the ankle was at 90°. Shear wave speed in the medial gastrocnemius increased as the ankle moved from plantarflexion to dorsiflexion (less affected: r² = 0.82, P < 0.001; more-affected: r² = 0.69, P < 0.001) and as ankle torque increased (less affected: r² = 0.56,P < 0.001; more-affected: r² = 0.45, P < 0.001). In addition, shear wave speed was strongly correlated with fascicle strain (less affected: r² = 0.63, P < 0.001; more-affected: r² = 0.53, P < 0.001). The higher shear wave speed in the more-affected limb of individuals with cerebral palsy indicates greater muscle stiffness, and demonstrates the clinical potential of shear wave elastography as a non-invasive tool for investigating mechanisms of altered muscle properties and informing diagnosis and treatment.

Make it Universal

Dr. Steele AccessEngineering, Media October 29, 2015October 12, 2021AccessEngineering, Accessibility, Makerspaces, Universal Design

AccessEngineering and Dr. Steele’s recent work on creating guidelines for making makerspaces accessible was featured in the School Library Journal. It is a great resource, featuring different DIY and makerspace movements that support individuals with disabilities around the US. In particular, check out some of the great work on how toys can be easily hacked for individuals with disabilities from John Schimmel and Holly Cohen, cofounders of DIYAbility, .

You can read the full article here:

Make It Universal

Arm Orthoses – Low Resolution Prototyping

Keshia News October 28, 2015October 12, 2021

Low Resolution Prototyping Challenge – October 2015

A team of students, working to create new arm orthotic designs, collaborated this week in a low resolution prototyping challenge. After brainstorming a total of 50 ideas, the students were charged with the task of creating prototypes of their sketched orthoses using common everyday objects around the lab. Their ideas sprang to life while working with cardboard, duct-tape, string, paperclips, and elastic cord. Low resolution supplies allowed for sketched ideas to be communicated to a group in a quick, cheap, and testable way. After 20 minutes of building time, students showcased their prototype and discussed what worked and what did not work. Here are a few glimpses into the event!

CJ Smith, Sasha Portnova, Bradley Wachter, Keshia Peters, Gaurav Mukherjee, and Mark Chang took part in the challenge.