New York State Industries for the Disabled, Inc. (NYSID) hosted its 11th annual CREATE Symposium last month to showcase technologies designed by engineering students to empower people with disabilities to be more successful at work.
NYSID is an Albany-based nonprofit membership organization that was founded in 1975 with the goal of increasing opportunities for people with disabilities. NYSID seeks to accomplish this goal by contracting with both government agencies and businesses to meet procurement needs while providing employment for people with disabilities.
Students from all over New York met at the Empire State Plaza Concourse on April 9 to participate in the competition. “There is the obvious impact that the inventions have on the individuals with disabilities that utilize them. But there is a larger impact on the students who may not know the disability services world all that well or may not ever have been exposed to it and how impactful small but deliberate design changes can be.” said Maureen O’Brien, NYSID president and CEO.
This year, the team from SUNY Albany, comprised of students Binh Ho, Shakib Ahmed, and Alex Pilkey, came in first place, winning $15,000 for their invention to streamline mail labeling at the Center for Disability Services.
A team from Cooper Union’s Albert Nerken School of Engineering, comprised of students Eun-Soe Lee and Justice Candelario, came in second place with a prize of $10,000. The team designed and built a more accessible secure cabinet for the nonprofit organization CP Unlimited’s shredding room with a scissor lift mechanism that automatically brings the paper to the desired height.
And a team from the New York Institute of Technology, comprised of the students Tyler Hradek, Russell Wetzler, and Derrick Chiu, came in third, winning $5,000 for their invention of the TRAM. TRAM stands for Transport Ready Assisting Machine, which helps individuals who need to pack, lift and transport.
Benjamin William Stephens is a reporter with The SBU Media Group, part of Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism Working Newsroom program for students and local media.