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Thursday, March
3rd
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Wheelchair
Fabrication in Developing Countries
Ralf Hotchkiss
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Abstract: Ralf Hotchkiss will
track the design of the Whirlwind Wheelchair from its beginning thirty years
ago to the present and on into the future. From the first design breakthroughs
of barefoot blacksmiths to the high tech testing and manufacturing methods of
today, surprise breakthroughs in basic wheelchair design have come from the
backyard inventors of some forty developing countries. These inventors, along
with several graduates of the Stanford d.school, form the Whirlwind Network of
wheelchair riders and designers. Their goal is not only to make wheelchairs
available in the poorest of countries; it is to radically improve the
durability and rough-ground mobility so that wheelchair riders can live and
work in environments that they can only dream of visiting today. Ralf will show
unfinished designs that open wide opportunities for new developments, and he
will make a plea for the innovative designers of Stanford to enter into one of
today's most fulfilling areas of invention and international development
work.
Biosketch: Ralf Hotchkiss
is an inventor and the lead designer of the Whirlwind Wheelchair International,
a non-profit located in Berkeley. Its mission is "to make it possible for every
person in the developing world who needs a wheelchair to obtain one that will
lead to maximum personal independence and integration into society". Ralf
taught a SFSU class, Engineering 620: Wheelchair Design and
Construction, in which students built a complete wheelchair in a Third
World appropriate shop. Ralf is a graduate of Oberlin College and a
1989 MacArthur Foundation
Fellow.
- Contact
information:
- Ralf Hotchkiss
- 6505 Farallon Way
- Oakland,
CA 94611
- 510/912-1200
- whirlwind -at-
sfsu.edu
- Whirlwind Wheelchair
International
- 2703 7th St., #134
- Berkeley,
CA 94710
- 510/204-9333
- Lecture Material:
- Pre-lecture slides - 709 Kb pdf file
- Slides - 1.17 Mb pdf file
- Video - 1:12:24
- Photos - 622 Kb pdf file
- Links:
- Engineering Instructor and
Activist Seeks, Inspires Wheelchair Innovation
- Wheelchair activist to
receive President's Medal
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