This award will support senior students from the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (MIME) at The University of Toledo (UT) to design and fabricate custom-made devices for persons with disabilities identified by the Ability Center of Greater Toledo (ACT). The ACT is a non-profit center for independent living with a mission to assist people with disabilities to live, to work, and to socialize in the community.
As part of their training and education, senior engineering students at UT are required to complete one capstone design course called Senior Design Projects. During this course, students design, construct and test an original or a custom-modified device to meet objectives specified by a customer. National Science Foundation funds will support the acquisition of supplies, equipment and fabrication costs for the design projects. Ten projects per year are to be completed and written reports on those projects will be submitted for annual publication in the yearly NSF book for Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons with Disabilities.
At the end of each semester, an exposition will display the prototypes built by the students along with final presentations. This event is covered by the local Media and includes television, radio and newspapers. Community leaders, health care providers' representatives, persons with disabilities and their families, high school teachers, local professional society members, and the UT community attend this exposition. These activities provide exposure to science and technology for pre-college teachers, young people, and other non-scientist members of the public, thus contributing to and impacting education and human resources.
