Gregory W. McGrew,
BSME, MEBME
Born: May 22, 1956
in Alden, KS
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Entry into the AT field:
September, 1985
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How I got into the
field
I graduated from University of
Kentucky in 1979 and started working for GE as a turbine-generator field
engineer. Wanting something more engaging and heart-felt from the results of my
work, I found a graduate engineering program focusing on rehabilitation
engineering at University of Virginia, was accepted, and attended starting in
1985. The program lasted two years and included a good deal of hands on
rehabilitation engineering work with clients - primarily in seating and
mobility, but also in environmental control and job accommodation.
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Important event(s) that influenced
my early decision to get into the assistive technology field
My lack of inspiration for the work I was in
caused me to look for a way to apply my education where the returns were more
human, and more direct. Finding the graduate program at UVA and speaking with
its director, Dr. Steven I. Reger, I became clearly convinced rehabilitation
engineering was what I had been looking for.
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Why I chose the AT
field
First, it met my needs for
applying my engineering education to more directly helping people in a
biomedical field. Secondly, I was excited when I entered the field because it
was relatively new, and there was (and still is) much to explore and
develop.
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My inspiration and
mentor
Dr. Reger, mentioned above,
and certainly Colin McLaurin - also at UVA, and one of RESNA's founders - had
significant influence on my education in the field and approach to the adaptive
needs of people with disabilities. More of a peer, Stephen Sprigle was a couple
years ahead of me in the graduate program at UVA, and went on to get his PhD.
He and I have remained close colleagues in the field of rehabilitation
engineering, as well as good personal friends since UVA. His passion and
dedication to RESNA and the field have been inspirational, and he's always been
generous with his knowledge and insights.
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Why the field is important to me
and the central focus of my work
As
the field has evolved, my role has changed as well. My interest and efforts are
now focused on the testing of products used by people with disabilities -
primarily the usability of such products (both assistive technology and
mainstream commercial products). I run a usability testing lab that is
currently testing feature phone and smartphone products, tablets, and an
assistive technology product for people with reading disabilities. I feel that
these technologies offer great potential for enhancing the lives and
independence of people with various disabilities, but need to be evaluated for
the quality and effectiveness of their human factors design by people with
disabilities.
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My memorable successes and
greatest contributions to the field
One that comes to mind involved a man working as
a bell man at an old hotel. This gentleman had developed a heart condition that
made it difficult for him to negotiate steps while hauling someone's luggage.
He was in danger of losing his job because of this. I was able to find and
adapt what at that time was an obscure technology produced in Scandinavia that
could climb stairs through a series of motorized rotating and locking wheel
sets. We purchased this product and adapted it to allow the man to transport
luggage of various types. Our custom work was relatively simple, but problem
solving, finding the right technology and being able to customize it - and
saving this man's job in doing so - was a very satisfying and memorable
experience.
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My most memorable
failures
The 'failure' that comes to
mind was very much a learning experience for me. I had only been working as a
rehabilitation engineer for a few months when I was introduced to a man with
spastic cerebral palsy that assembled a type of high-pressure water valve.
Assembly involved attaching various springs and nuts to a metal core, and was
very time consuming for the man due to his fine motor problems. He completed 4
in a full day while others without his disability completed 10 to 12. His
manager wanted him to be able to increase his productivity to around 8 units
per day. So I was excited about the opportunity to design and build a set of
assembly fixtures that would permit this man to use gross motor movements to
more quickly and efficiently assemble the valves. My design worked well and I
was certain the man would be thrilled to have his job made easier and him be
more productive. We delivered the fixtures, showed him how they worked, and had
him demonstrate proper use of them. He did so, and seemed very happy to have
them.
Three weeks later I returned to the
site to find he had gone back to his old familiar way of assembly and the
fixtures sat idle. His old assembly method, while not as efficient, was much
more comfortable and familiar and that was very important to him. His manager
valued the employee and overlooked his reduced production. This was a valuable
lesson in understanding the importance of knowing what issues, feelings, and
relationships are critical to all parties when carrying out job
accommodation.
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Significant changes and advances
in the field since I first entered it
One of the biggest changes is certainly the
availability of off-the-shelf assistive technology products - not just their
existence, but the mechanisms people have for acquiring them. That is not to
say that there still isn't a big need for more people to have access to AT, but
it is much better than when I started.
The
current explosion of mobile IT and it's incredibly rapid evolution seems to me
to be the most significant advance in assistive technology and rehabilitation
engineering. Engineers, clinicians, and consumers are all struggling to keep up
with what opportunities the current technologies may present, when software and
hardware advances create new ways of thinking about how to address current
accessibility and independence issues, and what was current becomes
obsolete.
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On the future of rehabilitation
engineering and assistive technology
I
think RE and AT will increasingly involve the application of sensor
technologies combined with digital processing to offer an increasing variety of
ways for people with all kinds of disabilities to access, interact with, and to
a certain extent, control their world.
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My role within RESNA and what it
gave back to me
I will always
willingly offer the organization and the field any insights and knowledge I may
have gained during my years as a RESNA member and leader, and as someone long
engaged in working with people with disabilities on their AT needs.
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On the future of RESNA
I am encouraged by what I see in those coming
forward to be active leaders in the organization. We have very bright and
capable people from each of RESNA's constituencies willing to devote time,
skills, and effort to move RESNA forward. To me, moving forward includes
expanding RESNA's membership and its influence.
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My suggestions for those just
entering the field
In many ways, the
field is still in its infancy, or seems so because our activities and players
and institutions are so scattered and isolated from one another. I would ask
someone new to do what they could to bring those working in all areas of AT and
RE together, and I'd tell them that RESNA still offers the best foundation for
making that happen.
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