REAR Lab

REAR Lab: Rehabilitation Engineering and Applied Research

Students

Courses and Research Opportunities at Georgia Tech

The REAR Lab offers related  academic courses and research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at Georgia Tech.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities:

Applied Disability Research and Development: ME 2698/2699 or ME 4698/4699

variable credits

Every semester we hire undergraduate students to participate in research in various areas related to applied disability research and development. Areas of study include monitoring of wheelchair and wheelchair cushion use, standardized testing of assistive technology, development of assistive technology, and the study of tissue response to loading. Activities range from data collection to data analysis, CAD design and device fabrication, algorithm development and more. Typically, students must be willing to dedicate at least 9-10 hours per week on research during spring and fall semesters, and at least 12 hours per week during the summer semester.

To get involved, please send the following information to rearlab@design.gatech.edu:

  1. Resume
  2. Unofficial transcript
  3. The semester you are interested in working and how many credits you plan on taking besides research
  4. What blocks of time you have available in your schedule (if you have that information available)
  5. Whether you are interested in working for credit or pay (we prefer students work for credit their first semester in the REARLab, but alternative options are sometimes available)

Graduate Courses

ME/ID Collaborative Capstone Design: ME4182-ID4081

Capstone design for ME and ID majors. Teams of Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering students apply a systematic design process to real multidisciplinary problems. Students apply their knowledge and skills  throughout a complete design process including needs assessment, ideation, prototyping, and evaluation.

Human Centered Design: ID 6101

The design of products and/or environments that are inclusive of persons with different abilities can be a difficult endeavor requiring an understanding of function and means to collect design-specific information. This course seeks to expose students to 1) aspects of disability and aging and 2) the tools commonly used by designers to collect stakeholder input. Course content includes an overview of disability and aging, anthropometry, survey and focus group design and qualitative inquiry.