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Sprigle Honored for Outstanding Service to Field

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 Dr. Stephen Sprigle, director of the Center for Assistive Technology & Environmental Access (CATEA), was recently awarded the Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North American's (RESNA) Mentor and Distinguished Service Awards. These awards were presented to Dr. Sprigle during RESNA's annual conference at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta in June.

"I couldn't be more pleased that Stephen was selected to receive two awards this year from RESNA," said Dean Thomas Galloway. "Stephen provides outstanding guidance and instruction to his students as well as his staff. His contributions and service to RESNA shows the depth of his dedication to the fields of wheeled mobility, rehabilitation engineering, and assistive technology."

The RESNA Mentor Award is given to a RESNA member who has influenced, counseled, and nurtured others in the fields of rehabilitation engineering or assistive technology.

"Mentors have the unique ability to shape the career, mold the skills and talents, and encourage students to achieve professional successes beyond what that they think is possible," said David L. Jaffe, RESNA Awards Committee Chair. "Stephen receives this Mentor Award for his impact as a mentor on a generation of engineers, clinicians, and researchers."

Laura Cohen describes Sprigle as a "brilliant mad scientist" and "trusted advisor and helper who provided support and challenged my thinking and vision." She goes on to say that he "takes great joy in being the devil's advocate" and "has an uncanny ability to dissect an important and complex issue, turn it upside down, and completely confuse me. He embodies, albeit unconventionally, humor, critical thinking, teamwork, collaboration, and plain old fun." 

Fran Harris adds that his "distinguishing mentor quality is his willingness and drive to integrate my own ideas with others without selfishness, his efforts to show me how my thinking could have a material impact on important questions and issues and that professional disciplines grow stronger and more substantial when ideas were exchanged across professional boundaries. Stephen has countless students, colleagues, and allied professionals who look to him for the guidance, intellectual comradeship, counsel, and inspiration that he provides." 

Maureen Linden says Sprigle "would absolutely hate knowing he is being nominated for the Mentor Award." She continues, "His intense passion for his work directs his research, his clinical work, and his daily interaction with students. He is the most intelligent person I know. Stephen's outward, non-conformist appearance is an attempt to appear more approachable to his students. He was a faculty advisor to biomedical engineering students and directed the research of students in other departments. Collectively, this crew became know as "Sprigle's Kids" - a moniker they carried with great pride. Stephen has a natural ability to teach and makes each member of the research team feel as if they have vital input. Somehow, impossibly, Stephen knows what you are capable of before you recognize it for yourself." 

Kim Davis notes that "at first glance, he may seem to be an unlikely candidate for the Mentor Award, but one must look beyond the ponytail and listen beyond the Dennis Miller-like abstract references. Having him around is like having your own personal seating and wheeled mobility reference library. Stephen's mantra is that it is a tough field to work in, and if you're not having fun, it's just not worth it. He is honesty and integrity personified." 

Sprigle also was the recipient of a RESNA Distinguished Service Award.  The Distinguished Service Award recognizes RESNA members for their sustained contributions and service to the organization. 

"Sprigle received this award for his vision and efforts in creating and maintaining - for over a decade - the original RESNA listserv," said Jaffe. 

This online discussion group started in 1994 as an outreach for the Wheeled Mobility and Computer Application Special Interest Group (SIG). It blossomed as many people from other fields of assistive technology joined and participated in a lively online dialog. The current enrollment is over 400 members and non-members. 

Ramon Castillo, Sprigle's nominator, says that "the RESNA list provides a community where we are no longer alone and where everyone has access to the brightest minds in the field". He says, "Much of what I have learned regarding assistive technology can be directly attributed to my participation on the list. This, in turn, has helped my service recipients." Stephen has acted as the "listboy" and has ensured the smooth and effective running of the original RESNA listserv during its formative years.

RESNA is an interdisciplinary association of people with a common interest in technology and disability. For more information on RESNA, visit http://www.resna.org/

CATEA, a research center at Georgia Tech's College of Architecture, specializes in technology, design, and policy that promotes maximum access to opportunity and environments for people with disabilities. For more information on CATEA, visit http://catea.gatech.edu/.

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  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:Leslie Sharp
  • Created:06/27/2006
  • Modified By:Fletcher Moore
  • Modified:10/07/2016