Date: Thursday, October 26, 2023
Category: General
Hello RESNA members!
Fall is here, and we’re entering the busiest time of the year for a lot of us. It’s during this time, especially as we get closer to Thanksgiving, that I like to remind myself to be grateful for everything in our lives. As things get stressful, I encourage you to do the same – stop for a moment to think about the blessings in your life, whether that’s your family and friends, the RESNA community, or even (in my case) Ohio State football.
Earlier this month I was lucky enough to participate in the 2023 Colin McLaurin Distinguished Lecture: A Fireside Chat with Dr. Rory Cooper. We had an engaging conversation about Dr. Cooper’s life and career, and he shared the pivotal moments and lessons that helped shape his approach to developing new assistive technologies.His passion for creating solutions to help those with disabilities is truly inspiring – and noteworthy. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame this month, along with several Nobel Prize laureates!If you couldn’t view this fireside chat live, the recording will soon be available in RESNA Learn, our content hub.
The year may be winding down, but not for RESNA. Stay alert for a call for 2024 webinar presentations, coming soon! One of RESNA’s main member benefits is the sharing of ideas, innovations, and research between members. If there is a problem you’ve run into and come up with a creative solution for, the odds are high that another RESNA member has run into the same problem. We’re building out the educational program for 2024 and we’d love to hear what you’ve been working on. Look for the official call for presentations email next week! Presenters that are chosen will receive a small honorarium.
Also, please stay alert for other calls for submissions. Even though we are not going to hold an in-person conference next year, we are still going to move ahead with virtual events for Scientific Paper Platforms, the Developer’s Showcase, the Student Design Challenge, and the Student Scientific Paper Competition. For you researchers, we will still publish on-line proceedings of all scientific presentations, and will publish the abstracts in Assistive Technology Journal. So get those papers and product designs ready!
Finally, join me and other RESNA members at our last webinar of the year on November 8th at 1pm ET. Seong-Hee Yoon Westlake will present on “Engineers for Athletes,” talking about her work in adaptive sports programs.
Thanks for being a part of the RESNA community, and Happy Fall!
Carmen DiGiovine
RESNA President