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CURRICULUMS
OPENING SESSION
As director of the Accessible Technology Group (ATG) at Microsoft, Robert Sinclair is responsible for the company's worldwide accessibility strategy to develop software and devices that make it easier for people to see, hear and use their computers. Sinclair is one of the chief architects of Microsoft User Interface (UI) Automation, Microsoft's innovative accessibility model. He also has 15 patents pending, most for advances in accessible technology. While Sinclair's team focuses on helping Microsoft and partner companies create technology that empowers individuals with disabilities and other difficulties, the benefits of those solutions are not limited to those who experience physical or cognitive impairments—and neither is his vision for accessible technology.
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/microsoft/sinclair.aspxPLENARY SESSION 1
Challenges for Assistive Technology
I’m currently working as a specialist at the Accessibility Department of the ONCE Foundation for the co-operation and integration of people with disabilities. Before this I was at an associate organisation – President of the COCEMFE (Coordinating National Confederation of the Physically Handicapped in Spain) – dedicated to orthopaedics, the promotion of accessibility and technical aids, and I have also participated in projects for the occupational integration of disabled persons. These projects were basically conducted in co-operation with large companies and local authorities, through the work carried out in the company Fundosa Social Consulting.
Mr. Knops is Program Manager Technology and Accessibility of iRv, Institute for Rehabilitation Research. Mr. Knops has 12 years of experience in the advisory services of technical aids in different positions. His background is occupational therapy. The main interest of Mr. Knops is assistive technology on the level of: usability of AT, policy developments on AT in the EU, market developments in AT, innovation support activities and consultancy in AT.
Mr. Knops was from the 1st of January 2004 until 31st of December 2005 the president of AAATE. His involvement in several EU projects concerns, among other activities, TIDE market survey, CORE, HEART-line C, RACE projects Fortune, D4ALL.net, Pro.f.use.
Mr. Knops participates in or is member of EdeAN, COSTter219, AAATE, RESNA, RESJA, ICCHP.
John Williams has been a professional writer for 35 years. He graduated from King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy.
He has been writing about disability issues since 1978 and is a former award winning weekly columnist for Business Week Online Magazine.
One of the founders of www.AT508.COM, he also writes a weekly column for the National Organization on Disability called Closing the Gap. Its url is NOD.ORG.
Mr. Williams coined the phrase “Assistive Technology.” He is also the former founder and former publisher of Assistive Technology News, a tabloid newspaper covering assistive technology issues.
Since 1980, Williams has been writing on assistive technology’s benefits to people with disabilities. He has written about hundreds of products used by people with disabilities.
On disability issues he has interviewed President George Bush, former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, former first lady Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Janet Reno, Clint Eastwood, Governor Jesse Ventura, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Senator Max Cleland, Congressman Jim Langevin, Vinton Cerf (one of the founding fathers of the Internet), Country Western singer Mel Tillis, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer, and other noted people in the disability arena.
He has had more than 2,000 articles published and has written six books.
PLENARY SESSION 2
Universal Design and Assistive Technology
He is a graduate in therapeutic pedagogy from the University of Barcelona. He has developed his career in ergonomics, biomechanics, accessibility, and Design for All, a concept which has been spread throughout Europe through the European Institute for Design and Disability (EIDD), of which he was the President (from 1998 to 2001).
During the period of construction of the installations destined for the 1992 Olympic Games, he was responsible for urban accessibility, transport, and technical assistance of the Barcelona City Council until 1993 when he assumed the management of the Consorci de Recursos i Documentació per a l’Autonomia Personal (CRID).
Presently, he is a Lecturer of various Master and Doctorate courses at the University of Barcelona and Lisbon, member of the Barcelona City Council Accessibility Working Group, Patron of the Barcelona Centre de Disseny (BCD), General Director of ProAsolutions and the Founder and the President of the Design for All Foundation.
MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
- Accessibility manual for beaches for the Barcelona region (2001).
- From the City without barriers to the City for All (2002).
- From the Accessibility Plan to the City for All (2003).
- European Concept for Accessibility (ECA), version 2003.
M.S. University of Illinois at Chicago, 2004, Civil Engineering
Area of Concentration: Structural Engineering
M.Eng. University of Virginia, 1983, Mechanical Engineering
Area of Concentration: Rehabilitation Engineering
B.S.University of Illinois at Chicago, 1981, Bioengineering
EMPLOYMENT
Director, Assistive Technology Unit, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Disability & Human Development, UIC
PE LICENSURE
Illinois (062-054251), Wisconsin (34264-006)
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY CREDENTIALLING
Assistive Technology Practitioner (ATP), RESNA, 1996
Certificate in Rehabilitation Engineering Technology (RET), RESNA, 2003
Dr. Scherer is author of the books Living in the State of Stuck: How Assistive Technology Impacts the Lives of People with Disabilities and Connecting to Learn: Educational and Assistive Technology for People with Disabilities and. She edits the journal Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. Dr. Scherer is a Fellow of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and Fellow of the American Psychological Association in Rehabilitation Psychology as well as in Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology and in Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics.
PLENARY SESSION 3
New Technologies
He obtained the Industrial Engineering degree by the Polytechnic University of Cataluña in 1986.
He carried out his Doctorate studies in University of the Basque Country and received the Ph.D. degree in 2000.
He joined Fundación Tekniker in 1986, where he developed the research activity until 1988. That year he started working in Fundación Fatronik as researcher and in 2001 he was appointed Technological Director. In parallel to his work as Technological Director, since 2003, he has developed his activity as OTRI’s Director.
He has worked as researcher or main researcher, as well as being leader in numerous research projects, both subsidized by public institutions (European Union, Basque Government, Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, etc.) or subsidized directly by companies.
His specific knowledge areas are: Biomedical Engineering, Technologies for Health, Robotics and ICT’s.
He has published several scientific articles, has various patents pending and develops teaching activities in the University of the Basque Country: as Teacher, as Thesis Director and as Member of the Board of Thesis Examiners.
He belongs to several scientific societies; IEEE, EMBS and ASME amongst others.
He is also member of the board of evaluators of the V and VI Framework Programme in the European Union. Finally, he is co-president of the European Conference for the Advancement of Assistive Technologies in Europe 2007.
Rory A. Cooper, Ph.D. received the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering with a concentration in bioengineering from University of California at Santa Barbara in 1989. He is chairman and professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, and professor of Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Cooper is director and VA Senior Research Career Scientist of the Center of Excellence for Wheelchairs and Related Technology. Dr. Cooper has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal publications. He is also the author of two books. Dr. Cooper is an elected Fellow of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America, IEEE, and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.
Educated to B.Sc in Physics.
Spent 16 years in Telecommunications.
Joined Dynamic Controls, the Wheelchair Controls Manufacturer and spent 10 years as Quality Manager, Service Manager and Technical Support Manager.
Joined Sunrise Medical in 2005 in the Engineering Department. Now working as Market Specialist and Product Management for Electronic Solutions for powered Wheelchairs.
PLENARY SESSION 4
EU Policies
Inmaculada Placencia is Deputy Head of Unit, for Integration of people with disabilities within the Directorate General for Employment social affairs and equal opportunities. The unit is in charge of the coordination of the European policies for people with disabilities and responsible for the European Disability Action Plan. She is graduated in Physics and Computer Science. Since 1991 she joined the European Commission and worked in several research programmes addressing accessibility and applications for older people and people with disabilities. The focus of her recent work in the "e-Inclusion" unit of the Directorate General Information Society and Media European Commission addressed policy related activities in the area of eAccessibility and eInclusion in particular work related to Design for All and Assistive technologies and other European and international activities related to access
Martina Sindelar has a doctorat in economics and worked several years in the German Ministry for Economics in different positions. She joined the European Commission in 1992 and took over her current job in DG ENTR in 2003. Ms Sindelar is responsible for ICT standardisation related issues, mainly concerning e-accessibility and eInclusion.
Dr Paul Timmers is Head of Unit of ICT for Inclusion in the European Commission, Directorate-General Information Society & Media. Previously he headed the eGovernment unit (EU policy, research and promotion). He has been a member of the Cabinet of European Commissioner for Enterprise and Information Society Erkki Liikanen, responsible for the information society and telecommunications policy portfolios. Other activities in the European Commission included electronic commerce policy and programme development.
Paul Timmers was a manager in product marketing and head of software development in a large IT company and has co-founded a software start-up. He holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands and an MBA from Warwick Business School, UK. He has widely published, including a book on electronic commerce strategies and business models and has been a visiting professor and lecturer at several universities and business schools.
PLENARY SESSION 5
Ageing and Disability
Petra Söderling is the Head of Technology Marketing for Nokia Research Center (NRC). This function in NRC is actively driving the global perception of Nokia¹s technological leadership by unwrapping Nokia¹s research activities and open approach to innovation.
Mrs. Söderling was hired by Nokia 2000, to manage technology marketing for mobile service enablers, such as browsing, downloading and messaging. Expanding this role, she represented Nokia in various standardization bodies and industry initiatives until joining Nokia Research Center 2006. Mrs. Söderling holds a seat in several Nokia steering boards.
His background is Industrial Engineering. He studied at the Politechnical University of Valencia. Since 2005 He is the responsible of the Functional Assessment Section of the Institute of Biomechanics of Valencia (IBV). He has been involved in the field of biomechanical research since 2002. His first research work was focused on the functional evaluation of cushions for pressure-sore prevention. This project broadened an important line of research in the IBV related to new methodologies to analyse biomechanical parameters of postural support devices including matresses, cushions, and special chairs.
He took a relevant role in the Spanish review of the recommendations of the European project HEART during the European year of people with disabilities. This review aimed to analyse the goals and lacks of the Spanish sector of assistive technologies for people with disability and the elderly people during the last ten years.
He has participated in the research team of projects related to development of new assistive technologies in the field o tremor management and new interfaces to interact with computers at a European level, DRIFTS and IPCA projects.
As the responsible of the Functional Assessment Section of the IBV, he co-ordinates the R&D activities of the IBV in this area at a technical and scientific level. He is the author of several research studies related to functional assessment of gait, balance and lumbar spine.