Visit SF State - Word on the Street - Ralf Hotchkiss
Name...
Ralf Hotchkiss
Title...
Director and Chief Engineer, Whirlwind Wheelchair International, San Francisco Urban Institute/Institute for Civic and Community Engagement
Highest degree...
Sci.D. (honorary), Oberlin College
At SF State since...
1989
Recent Projects...
Conferred SF State President's Medal in 2005; recipient of MacArthur Fellowship (1989); brought improved mobility to more than 15,000 people in Africa, Asia and Latin America by creating a global network of wheelchair inventors, designers, users and manufacturers to address the need for wheelchairs in the developing world.
Thoughts...
SF State is an innovative place, with older students whom I'm more likely to learn from because of their life experience. Most ideas incorporated into the designs of my chairs come from people whom I helped start in the design process. They encountered problems and came up with solutions.
