UNIVERSITY NEWS
Student project keeps rain out
It was sometime late afternoon on April 17 earlier this year when Daniel Nash was making his way to catch a bus home that three University of Memphis biomedical engineering students tried not to hold their breath. Nash’s two-day “test stage” was the last step. All they could do was hope for rain. And rain it did. The next evening, it rained nearly an inch. Nash (BBA ’13) uses a powered wheelchair, which normally means he must stay at home when midday rain is forecast. Without a barrier from rain over the chair’s joystick, the battery could stop working, leaving him stranded. Nash says a deep puddle could mean trouble, too. The U of M alum says the remedy for traveling in the rain is usually an umbrella, poncho or plastic grocery bag that is used to cover the joystick and keep everything dry. “You’ve probably seen a number of wheelchairs with the bags,” Nash says. It’s far from foolproof — Nash has broken three umbrellas, but luckily hasn’t been stranded in the rain. But during a rainstorm the next day, his belongings and most of his body were completely dry as he traveled home from another location. A device dubbed the Rain Shield that was designed by the three Herff College of Engineering students had worked perfectly. “The only thing that was wet were my feet and my ankles,” he says. “I’m glad I had it. Otherwise, I would have been soaked.” Nash was the brain behind the concept, a removable vinyl canopy attached to the back of his 300-pound wheelchair. It protects his body, wheelchair and belongings from rain and winds up to 40 miles per hour. Former U of M students Andrew Chiego (BSBE ’13), Thamer Hasan (BSBE ’13) and W. Lanier Lannom (BSBE ’13) partnered with Nash to create the Rain Shield as a project for a biomedical engineering course. Twice Nash submitted the idea for a wheelchair rain protectant to the U of M Disability Resources for Students (DRS) office. The second time he made the cut. “Daniel was one of the first to respond,” says Susan Te Paske, director of DRS. “He obviously had thought about this a lot.”
Daniel Nash (right) watches a demonstration of the Rain Shield device that three U of M Herff College of Engineering students designed. The canopy covers a portion of a wheelchair, protecting it from the elements while ensuring it continues to operate during rainstorms. 4
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THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS