REAR Lab Staff

Principal Investigator

Stephen Sprigle, PhD, PT

Stephen Sprigle is a Professor in Applied Physiology and Industrial Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology. As biomedical engineer and physical therapist, his interests include the biomechanics of wheelchair seating and posture, pressure ulcer prevention, standardized wheelchair cushion and support surface testing and assistive technology design. Dr. Sprigle is currently the Director of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Wheeled Mobility.

Staff

Jason Atwood, BS

Jason Atwood is a Research Technician with a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech. He works for both the REARlab and the Mobility RERC. His work focuses on the prototyping of assistive technologies through interfacing with patients, clinicians, and AT professionals to create novel solutions to unique problems. Atwood also conducts testing on innovative seating cushion technology.

Jayme Caspall, MSME

Jayme Caspall, MSME is a licensed Professional Engineer and Research Engineer II at CATEA and the School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. His expertise is systems integration and he has designed a wide variety of sensors, including those used in the WhAMI system. He will direct the project: Development of Standards and Test Methods: Device to Measure Mechanical Work and Efficiency of a Manual Wheelchair.

Linghua Kong, PhD

Linghua Kong, PhD is a Senior Faculty Engineer(ME) with extensive experience in medical device design, including several current RERC products that are being transferred to the marketplace. He will be a Co-Investigator on the following projects:

  • Development of Standards and Test Methods: Device to Measure Mechanical Work and Efficiency of a Manual Wheelchair
  • Inventor-Driven Product Development
  • Creating Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Experiences (cRE/ATe)

Chris Maurer, MPT, ATP

Chris Maurer, MPT, ATP is a Seating and Mobility Clinician at Shepherd Center with 25 years of experience AT. As part of the RERC research program on posture and function her expertise has been critical to produce evidence relevant to service delivery. She will serve as Co-Director on the project: Improved Training to Improve Function, and Co-investigator on the projects: Inventor-Driven Product Development and Evidence-Based Online Wheelchair Seating and Positioning Course.

Tobias Meyer, MS

Tobias Meyer is a Research Engineer with a masters degree in BME from Vanderbilt University and a masters degree in EE from the University of Applied Science Magdeburg/Germany. He is part of the REAR lab and his work is focused on the development and testing of standards for wheelchair cushions. He will serve as a Co-investigator on the Development of Standards and Test Methods : Wheelchair Cushion Standards.

Michelle Nemeth, PT, CCRP

Michelle E. Nemeth, PT, CCRP is a physical therapist and clinical research scientist at the Shepherd Center Crawford Research Institute. She has 19 years of clinical experience in the areas of adult, adolescent and child neurological rehabilitation, intensive care, medical surgical and wound care. Michelle also has 10 years of management experience and 3 years of clinical research experience. She will serve as a Project Director on the Height Adjustable Wheelchair Seat to Facilitate Transfers and Reach and as a Co-Investigator on two projects: Creating Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Experiences (cRE/ATe) and Pressure Ulcer Prevention: Susceptibility and Pressure Relief Effectiveness.

Sharon Sonenblum, PhD

Sharon Sonenblum, PhD completed a doctorate in Bioengineering from Georgia Tech in August of 2009. For her dissertation, she studied the use and biomechanical effects of power tilt-in-space wheelchairs. Sharon has also played an important role in the REAR Lab’s work on monitoring of wheelchair use, activity and participation and has an interest in pressure ulcer causation and prevention. She will be an investigator on the project: Pressure Ulcer Prevention: Susceptibility and Pressure Relief Effectiveness.

Graduate Students

Young Mi Choi

Young Mi Choi is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Architecture with a concentration in Industrial Design. Her current project is a study for her dissertation entitled "The Impact of User Input During the Design of an Assistive Technology Product."

Phuc Dao, MS

Phuc Dao is a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering specializing in dynamics and vibrations. He graduated with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering degree from Georgia Tech‘s 5-year MS/BS program in May 2006. For his research project, he is working with Jayme Caspall, Dr. Sprigle, and Dr. Ferri on the Anatomical Model Propulsion System (AMPS).

Matt Eicholtz

Matt Eicholtz is a M.S. graduate student in Mechanical Engineering specializing in mechatronics and dynamics. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in May 2009. His current research projects include the Anatomical Model Propulsion System (AMPS) as well as an inertia measurement device for manual wheelchairs.

Anita Gajjala

Anita Gajjala is a Masters student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. Her focus is in Bioengineering and Signal Processing. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Anita received her Bachelors in ECE from Cornell University and worked at Intel as a Rotation Engineer and Component Design Engineer.

Ricardo Lopez

Ricardo is an Electrical Engineer from Peru. He is a former Fulbright Fellow and is currently working towards his doctoral degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His work with the MRERC involves the design of hardware needed for wheelchair movement monitoring.