UA Engineering Students Develop Special Cycles for United Cerebral Palsy

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of Alabama senior mechanical engineering students have designed and constructed special cycles for children who are involved in programs at United Cerebral Palsy of West Alabama.

Students will present their designs Wednesday, Nov. 7, with a demonstration at 12:30 p.m. in the James Massey Hire Jr. and Mildred Ray Hire Design Clinic Laboratory located in Hardaway Hall, room 109.

The cycles were developed so that children who have limited muscle coordination could ride by pushing both petals simultaneously, which differs from the alternating motion required to ride a typical bicycle. The recreational vehicles are similar in form to tricycles, with at least three wheels on each cycle.

The 31 mechanical engineering students in the design class divided into eight teams to create and produce the cycles. Students considered potential designs that could be ridden by children 8-12 years old and submitted these designs to a faculty jury before actually building the prototypes. The building process took approximately two months to complete.

“This project is much more meaningful for students because they actually have the ability to help their customer,” said Dr. Steve Shepard, associate professor of mechanical engineering and the instructor for the mechanical engineering design class. “In addition, this project provides the students with the opportunity to use their design and analysis tools and skills that they have been developing for the past three years.”

For more than 55 years, United Cerebral Palsy has been committed to change and progress for persons with disabilities. As one of the largest health charities in America, the mission of United Cerebral Palsy is to advance the independence, productivity and full citizenship of people with disabilities through an affiliate network.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has about 1,900 students and nearly 100 faculty. In the last seven years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.