Interested members of the U of T community who would like to attend the seminars can email Kendra Hunter at hunter@mie.utoronto.ca

Professor Wendy Rogers
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Living in Interactive Future Environments: Supporting Successful Aging through Technology

Abstract
Technology advances have the potential to support successful aging but are often not designed with consideration for the interests, capabilities, limitations, needs, and preferences of older adults. My research program is specifically oriented toward developing a fundamental understanding of aging to support technology design for health and wellness of older adults. We focus on supporting older adults in general as well as those who are aging with perceptual, mobility, or cognitive disabilities. I will provide examples of research on support for social engagement, healthcare, and everyday activities in the home. I will discuss examples of current technologies (e.g., apps, mobile devices, social networking, in-home assistive technologies) as well emerging technologies (e.g., robotics, telepresence, digital voice assistants) to enable autonomy for older adults.

Biography
Wendy A. Rogers, Ph.D., is Khan Professor of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her primary appointment is in the Department of Health & Kinesiology. She has an appointment in Educational Psychology and is affiliate of the Beckman Institute, Illinois Informatics Institute; Center for Social and Behavioral Science; the Discovery Partners Institute; the Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program; and the Coordinated Science Lab Robotics Group. She received her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth, and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a Certified Human Factors Professional (BCPE Certificate #1539). Her research interests include design for aging; technology acceptance; human-automation interaction; aging-in-place; human-robot interaction; aging with disabilities; cognitive aging; and training. She is the Director of the McKechnie Family LIFE Home; Program Director of CHART (Collaborations in Health, Aging, Research, and Technology); and Director of the Human Factors and Aging Laboratory.

MIE’s Distinguished Seminar Series features top international researchers and leading experts across major areas of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering. The speakers present about their latest research and offer their perspectives on the current state of their field. The seminars are part of the program requirements for MIE Master of Applied Science and PhD students. The Distinguished Seminar Series is coordinated for 2024-2025 by Associate Professor Enid Montague.

View all upcoming MIE Distinguished Seminars.