Our Team
Some of us were captivated at an early age – whether due to living in a three-generation household, receiving treatment for a serious medical condition, or working with children who had disabilities. Others gravitated towards the practical nature of improving people’s lives through design. A few of us simply came for a job, and ultimately stayed to enact change. Whether personal experiences led us to the IDeA Center, or the IDEA Center exposed us to different design perspectives, our team of dedicated designers, engineers, occupational therapists, urban planners, and psychologists strives for results that empower, inspire, and create an inclusive community for all.
Core Staff
UB Collaborators
Shira Gabriel, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
Lora Cavuoto, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Huei-Yen “Winnie” Chen, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Chase Murray, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Victor Paquet, Sc.D., M.S., AEP
Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Korydon Smith, Ed.D., M.Arch
Professor, Department of Architecture
Beth Tauke, M.A., M.F.A.
Associate Professor, Department of Architecture
Wenyao Xu , PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Junsong Yuan, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Collaborators
Clive D’Souza PhD, MS
Associate Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, University of Pittsburgh
Director, Inclusive Mobility Research Lab
Tilak Dutta, PhD
Scientist, KITE (TRI)
Steve Landau, M.Arch.
President and Director of Research, Touch Graphics Inc.
Emily Nabors, MSG
Program Manager, The Pynoos Lab, School of Gerontology, University of Southern California Leonard Davis
Alison Novak, PhD
Scientist, KITE (TRI)
Aaron Steinfeld, PhD
Associate Research Professor, Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute
Sue Weidemann, Ph.D.
Researcher and Data Analyst, BOSTI Associates
Graduate Student Research Assistants
IDEA Center Alumni*
*Staff and Graduate Research Assistants
| Hire Date | Last Name | First Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Niepceron | Madeleine |
| 2020 | Parasurampuram | Avinash |
| 2020 | Shami | Mira |
| 2019 | Dhar | Shashank |
| 2019 | Donahue | Meghan |
| 2019 | Gurkiran | |
| 2019 | Johnson | Joseph |
| 2019 | Pathak | Abhinov |
| 2019 | Vangireddy | Sreedhar Reddy |
| 2019 | Vemuri | Lakshmi |
| 2019 | Wang | Chihuangji |
| 2018 | Choudhury | Purbarag Pathak |
| 2018 | Khanuja | Neeta |
| 2018 | Kost | Sarah (Sawyer) |
| 2018 | Mohammad | Mudassir |
| 2018 | Mortorff | Taylor |
| 2018 | Nguyen | Don |
| 2018 | Palla | Vijaya Harshavardhan |
| 2017 | Gupta | Shivam |
| 2016 | Burns | Dylan |
| 2016 | Choi | Ji Min |
| 2016 | McQuilkin | Jennifer |
| 2016 | Zanje | Avishkar |
| 2015 | Bingi | Uday |
| 2015 | Bulla | Anudeep |
| 2015 | Chen | Kuan Ting |
| 2015 | Kern | Cassandra |
| 2015 | Nemade | Medha |
| 2014 | Joshi | Aditya |
| 2014 | Perez | Brittany |
| 2014 | Potluri | Praveen Kumar |
| 2014 | Skerker | Elyse |
| 2013 | Hellaby | Megan |
| 2013 | Kocher | Lydia |
| 2013 | LaMunion | Eric |
| 2013 | Zhu | Xinhui |
| 2012 | Groele (Gripko) | Monica |
| 2012 | Kim | Karen |
| 2012 | Ranahan | Molly |
| 2011 | Andriano | Greg |
| 2011 | Carroll | MJ |
| 2011 | Johnson | Natalie |
| 2011 | King | Kevin |
| 2011 | Lim | Sarah (Sawyer) |
| 2011 | Mastalinski | Kyle |
| 2011 | Nolder | Alysha |
| 2011 | Switzer | Matthew |
| 2010 | Schoell | David |
| 2010 | W | Jenna |
| 2010 | Wilczynski | Edward |
| 2010 | Aggarwal | Rahul |
| 2010 | Buckner | Kathryn |
| 2010 | Burgos | Michael |
| 2010 | Deshmukh | Piyush |
| 2010 | Fenzl | Mark |
| 2010 | Habermehl | Nicole |
| 2010 | Kirschner | Michael |
| 2010 | Nasarwanji | Mahiyar |
| 2010 | Varma | Purti |
| 2009 | Bareria | Piyush |
| 2009 | Damle | Uma |
| 2009 | Grimble | Michael |
| 2009 | Hassanzadeh | Roshanak |
| 2009 | Price | Jay |
| 2008 | Johnson | Danielle |
| 2008 | Chau | Angela |
| 2008 | Hunter | Susan |
| 2008 | Joseph | Caroline |
| 2008 | Kwa | Alex |
| 2008 | Lamirand | Wendy |
| 2006 | Koch | Stephanie |
| 2006 | Sepples | John |
| 2006 | Zych | Matthew |
| 2004 | D’Souza | Clive |
| 2002 | Feathers | Dave |
| 2000 | Dolph | Eric |
| 2000 | McCabe | Joseph |
