January 29, 2026 In 2024, students Lige Yang and Richard Li teamed up at the CREATE AI+Accessibility Hackfest to explore the concept of an AI tool that could monitor a person’s seated position, identify when they are in a posture that could cause injury or worsen an existing condition, and alert a caretaker with accurate, recommended corrections. Yang has continued developing the design. From hackfest idea submitted by a parent… The project idea was submitted by Max Smoot, the parent…
Category: Health care research
Jennifer Mankoff, Director
CREATE Director Dr. Jennifer Mankoff’s research focuses on accessibility broadly speaking. “In doing this work, I emphasize values such as intersectionality, and perspectives such as disability studies. For example, in the domain of Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH) technology, I am exploring how people who are multilingual engage with communication technology. Another focus of my work is creating general tools so that anyone can use them, such as 3D printing, knitting, and other fabrication technologies. I have led the effort to better understand both clinical and do-it-yourself (DIY) stakeholders’ use of fabrication technologies, and developed better, more usable tools for production. Together, these can enhance the capabilities and participation of all users in today’s manufacturing revolution.”
Heather Feldner, Associate Director
CREATE Associate Director, Dr. Heather Feldner’s focus is on advancing participation and health together with people with disabilities and their families by exploring the intersections between mobility, disability, and technology in a variety of personal and environmental contexts. Her research centers on the design and implementation of mobility assistive technology, including how perceptions of disability and identity emerge and evolve through technology use.
Katherine M. Steele, Associate Director
CREATE Associate Director, Dr. Katherine M. Steele’s research focuses on using novel computational and experimental tools to understand human movement and improve treatment and quality of life of individuals with cerebral palsy, stroke, and other neurological disorders. Steele’s research strives to connect engineering and medicine to create solutions that can advance our understanding of human ability, but also translate research results to the clinic and daily life.