My Nonprofit Reviews

As Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Boston University, I lead the Senior Design Capstone Project course in which student teams develop technology for real-world 'customers'. Each summer we solicit engineering 'needs' throughout the Boston area. The students work with their 'customers' to develop technology solutions to their problems.

The Carter School has for years been an enthusiastic collaborator as a 'customer', usually seeking assistive technology development for a particular student or a low-cost design for a learning technology aid that would be beyond their budget. We have a Carter School project most years. An interesting consequence of this collaboration is that the college student team gets to know the Carter School, its students and its teachers. Often the college students and the Carter school students are only a few years apart in age; projects almost always held the engineers better appreciate disabilities and the resources needed to serve such students.

Examples of projects include
--sensors and switches to allow students with limited fine motor skills to interact with sound, light, and motion, giving them control over their environment
--vocational training aids, e.g. a popsicle stick counter that automatically prompts (with recorded messages) and affirms a student while she counts out a set number of popsicle sticks (used for medical testing in packs of 10 sticks).
--location sensing devices that detect when a student enters or leaves an area and gives them and the teacher an immediate audible welcome ("Jamie is here" or "Jamie says 'goodbye'")

The Carter School's commitment to exploring technology to help their students and classroom environment has inspired dozens of young engineers directly. Indirectly the Carter School's participation in Senior Design has publicized the needs of the multiply disabled to hundreds fo graduating seniors through class reports, demonstrations and public presentations.

Although I just retired, my colleagues continue to teach the Senior Design course, and the Carter School remains a regular 'customer' around assistive technology development.

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