David L. Jaffe

David L. Jaffe has been a Research Biomedical Engineer at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System's Rehabilitation Research and Development Center since 1979. He is currently interested in designing, developing, testing, and bringing to market microcomputer-based devices for disabled people including communication, mobility, and information systems. He also assists in teaching "Smart Product Design", a graduate-level course in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. He holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) and a MS degree in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University (Evanston, IL). He has been a Research Biomedical Engineer at the Rehab R&D Center since November, 1979, working on projects including an innovative wheelchair interface for individuals with quadriplegia, an electro-mechanical fingerspelling hand - a communication device for people who are deaf/blind, a system that explores virtual reality techniques to train individuals with gait deficits to improve their walking, and a project that employs a computer-based simulation to assess and improve the driving ability of individuals after brain injury. He is an internationally recognized engineer in the rehabilitation field. He is a local, national, and international source of expertise in the application of microcomputer technology in rehabilitation.

Past activities have included the critical review of funding proposals for several government agencies (NIH, NSF, VA, and NIDRR); the review of papers for publication or presentation at conferences; the provision of expert testimony for Congress (Office of Technology Assessment); presentations (papers, seminars, and instructional courses) at conferences; publications in refereed scientific journals; the organization of scientific program for Assets, an international conference sponsored by ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), and the organization of a Research Symposium on Virtual Reality and Rehabilitation. He has served on the RESNA (a professional rehabilitation technology organization) Board of Directors, chaired its Special Interest Group on Computer Applications for five years, and is on the Editorial Board of Technology and Disability, an international scientific journal. Jaffe is a member of the RESNA, IEEE (Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers), and ACM professional societies.