National Center for Accessible Transportation

Improving accessible airline transportation

A partnership between the College of Health and Human Sciences and the College of Engineering will use a new $5 million grant to create the nation's first research center focused on making airline transportation more accessible. Funded by the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the project will establish the National Center for Accessible Transportation (NCAT) with the goal of making travel easier for those with disabilities and the airline employees who assist them. Katherine Hunter-Zaworski, a rehabilitation and transportation engineer in Engineering will work with Mike Pavol, Assistant Professor in Health and Human Sciences and researchers at Oregon Health Sciences University and Stanford University. Pavol's Biomechanics Lab, where data will be collected, has been equipped with a sophisticated six-camera motion tracking system in conjunction with force plates to determine motions and forces involved in dependent and independent transfers in confined spaces. "Based on the data that we collect using an airplane simulated set up, Engineering will build concepts for better, ADA approved seating." More information…