{"68781":{"#nid":"68781","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Sprigle Honored for Outstanding Service to Field","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Dr. Stephen Sprigle, director of the Center for Assistive Technology \u0026amp; Environmental Access (CATEA), was recently awarded the Rehabilitation Engineering \u0026amp; Assistive Technology Society of North American\u0027s (RESNA) Mentor and Distinguished Service Awards. These awards were presented to Dr. Sprigle during RESNA\u0027s annual conference at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta in June.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I couldn\u0027t be more pleased that Stephen was selected to receive two awards this year from RESNA,\u0022 said Dean Thomas Galloway. \u0022Stephen 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.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe 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.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Mentors 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,\u0022 said David L. Jaffe, RESNA Awards Committee Chair. \u0022Stephen receives this Mentor Award for his impact as a mentor on a generation of engineers, clinicians, and researchers.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELaura Cohen describes Sprigle as a \u0022brilliant mad scientist\u0022 and \u0022trusted advisor and helper who provided support and challenged my thinking and vision.\u0022 She goes on to say that he \u0022takes great joy in being the devil\u0027s advocate\u0022 and \u0022has 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.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFran Harris adds that his \u0022distinguishing 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.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMaureen Linden says Sprigle \u0022would absolutely hate knowing he is being nominated for the Mentor Award.\u0022 She continues, \u0022His 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\u0027s 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 \u0022Sprigle\u0027s Kids\u0022 - 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.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKim Davis notes that \u0022at 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\u0027s mantra is that it is a tough field to work in, and if you\u0027re not having fun, it\u0027s just not worth it. He is honesty and integrity personified.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESprigle also was the recipient of a RESNA Distinguished Service Award. \u0026nbsp;The Distinguished Service Award recognizes RESNA members for their sustained contributions and service to the organization.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Sprigle received this award for his vision and efforts in creating and maintaining - for over a decade - the original RESNA listserv,\u0022 said Jaffe.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis 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.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERamon Castillo, Sprigle\u0027s nominator, says that \u0022the RESNA list provides a community where we are no longer alone and where everyone has access to the brightest minds in the field\u0022. He says, \u0022Much 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.\u0022 Stephen has acted as the \u0022listboy\u0022 and has ensured the smooth and effective running of the original RESNA listserv during its formative years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERESNA is an interdisciplinary association of people with a common interest in technology and disability. For more information on RESNA, visit\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.resna.org\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.resna.org\/\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECATEA, a research center at Georgia Tech\u0027s 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\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/catea.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/catea.gatech.edu\/\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDirector of the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA) was awarded the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27220","created_gmt":"2006-06-28 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:09:44","author":"Leslie Sharp","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2006-06-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2006-06-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"68782":{"id":"68782","type":"image","title":"David Jaffe presents Stephen Sprigle with RESNA\\\u0027s","body":null,"created":"1449177201","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:13:21","changed":"1475894599","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:19"}},"media_ids":["68782"],"groups":[{"id":"1221","name":"College of Design"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"276","name":"Awards"},{"id":"13649","name":"distinguished service"},{"id":"868","name":"Mentor"},{"id":"13648","name":"RESNA"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELeslie Sharp\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECollege of Architecture, Dean\u0027s Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=lsharp3\u0022\u003EContact Leslie Sharp\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-1096\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["leslie.sharp@coa.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}