Jon Pearlman, PhD: ISWP Director

Jon Pearlman is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology and director of the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP). Pearlman earned his BS and MS in mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley and Cornell University, respectively. Pearlman completed his PhD work in Rehabilitation Science and Technology at the University of Pittsburgh in 2007, with an emphasis on assistive technology design and transfer to developing countries. His research interests are in the areas of participatory action design, assistive technology transfer methods, and new product development.

 

Mary Goldberg, PhD: ISWP Co-director

Dr. Mary Goldberg serves as the Co-Director of ISWP and leads training and advocacy activities. Dr. Goldberg is Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Human Engineering Research Laboratories and Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology. In these roles, she focuses on developing and testing evidence-based continuing education interventions for rehabilitation professionals.  She currently teaches 4 courses at the University of Pittsburgh and Coursera on disability, rehabilitation, and assistive technology topics. Dr. Goldberg also serves as Co-Director for the U.S. National Institute for Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) Initiative to Mobilize Partnerships for Successful Assistive Technology Translation (IMPACT) Center and develops unique educational interventions to increase capacity of researchers worldwide to translate assistive technology products.

 

Nancy Augustine, MS

Nancy is ISWP project manager, responsible for day-to-day activities for the ISWP initiative. She has over 20 years of experience in association management, marketing and advertising.  Most recently, Nancy was senior vice president, national marketing division, Local Search Association, an international trade association for the local search industry.  She has an M.S.Ed., Business Education and B.S.B.A., Marketing, from Robert Morris University.

 

 


Kim Robinson

As of July 2018, Kim took on the position of Assistant to the Department Chair of RST. She also currently serves as Project Assistant for the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) which launched in February 2015 and handles ISWP’s day-to-day activities. Kim joined the University of Pittsburgh in 2012, working for the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL) as a Research Assistant in the Education and Outreach Department.

 

 

 

 

Megan D’Innocenzo

Megan is the Project and Research Coordinator for the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Science Department of Rehabilitation Science & Technology. She currently works on several study grants, including International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) and Initiative to Mobilize Partnerships for Successful Assistive Technology Translation (IMPACT). Megan earned her BS in Exercise Science from Slippery Rock University and her MS in Health, Physical Activity and Chronic Disease, with a concentration in statistics, from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests are in the areas of in rehabilitation technology, public health, and statistical analysis.

 

Krithika Kandavel, MS

Krithika Kandavel holds a Bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering and received her MS in knowledge management at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She has experiences as a software developer in a public sector in Singapore. Her work at the United Nations ESCAP at New Delhi includes developing a Social Hub for SATNET Asia, a project funded by the European Union. Together with UN CAPSA in Indonesia, she organized training programs for key stakeholders in South and Southeast Asian countries to facilitate electronic trade in Agriculture.

 

 

 

 

Anand Mhatre, PhD

Dr. Anand Mhatre is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, working on design and quality of wheelchairs and assistive technology. He received his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, completed his Masters from North Carolina State University and earned his Bachelors from the University of Mumbai, India. He serves on several committees,  works with ISWP to develop wheelchair standards and testing resources and teaches rehabilitation engineering design classes to graduate and undergraduate students.

 

 

 

Joseph Ott

Joseph Ott is a graduate student researcher at the University of Pittsburgh working on a Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Science. His area of research is manual wheelchair rolling resistance to guide the selection of products for end-users. He is a graduate of Robert Morris University, where he completed the integrated program for a Masters of Science in Engineering Management and Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Joseph is a member of the ISWP Standards Working Group.

 

 

Stephanie Vasquez

Stephanie is the Clinical and Research Coordinator at the  University of Pittsburgh. She earned her MS in  Rehabilitation Science and Technology at the University of Pittsburgh and her BS in Mechatronics Engineering from Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas, Ecuador. She currently is supporting ISWP on Wheelchair Standards, and the University’s Center for Assistive Technology in wheelchair service delivery.