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Amy Hurst holding a microphone and talking.

Amy Hurst

Associate Professor, Director of Ability Project

Occupational Therapy

Amy Hurst is an Associate Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Occupational Therapy in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development and the Department of Technology, Culture and Society in the Tandon School of Engineering. She is the director of the Ability Project, an interdisciplinary research space dedicated to the intersection between disability and technology. Dr. Hurst received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction from the HCII at Carnegie Mellon and a B.S. in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

She is passionate about understanding current social problems and identifying opportunities for technology to empower individuals impacted by those problems. She uses qualitative methods to analyze a current environment, design and build technology that fits within the constraints of that environment, and evaluate this technology in situ with target users. Her work sits at the intersection of assistive technology, interaction design, and engineering education.

Selected Publications

Courses

Developing Assistive Technology

This multi-disciplinary course allows students from a variety of backgrounds to work together to develop examples of assistive technology. Partnering with outside organization students will work in teams to identify a clinical need relevant to a certain clinical site or client population, and learn the process of developing an idea and following that through the development of a prototype product. The major learning activity is the design and fabrication of a device (piece of equipment, software, etc.) that meets a specific need for a specific person with a disability or a clinic that treats clients with disabilities or a category of people with similar needs as a result of their disability.
Course #
OT-GE 2900
Credits
3
Department
Occupational Therapy

SPECIAL TOPICS IN DIGITAL MEDIA: Access and Assistive Tech in Historic Sites and Museums

The course combines theory and practice for researching, designing, and prototyping tangible educational technology. Students will gain experience applying theoretical frameworks for learning and design as they develop an educational experience with a client. Learners will analyze a learning context, conduct primary & secondary research, engage in ideation & prototyping, and iterate on their designs with stakeholders. Students will learn how to use microcontrollers to interface with sensors and actuators, in order to implement their designs and gain feedback.
Course #
DM-GY 9103
Credits
0 - 3
Department
Administration, Leadership, and Technology