Some students go to MIT to plumb the mysteries of the atom, or of outer space, or to press the limits of computer science.
Interactive Graphic [Leveraged Freedom Chair] <http://www.boston.com/news/graphics/03_07_10_drivetrain/> Leveraged Freedom Chair <http://www.boston.com/news/graphics/03_07_10_drivetrain/> Amos Winter went another way: He's trying to revolutionize the wheelchair. Specifically, he wants to make that most familiar aid to the disabled work in the Third World, where roads are bad, money tight, and the need immense. A doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering, Winter calls his invention the Leveraged Freedom Chair - leveraged because it is powered by hand levers. Abdullah Munish has another name for it. "I call it my little angel machine,'' he said. For years after he survived a car crash but lost the use of his legs, Munish struggled to move his wheelchair along the rutted, hilly roads of his hometown in Tanzania. Frustrated, he often just stayed indoors, and lost touch with friends and relatives. Now, with the help of Winter's invention, he has reclaimed his freedom and sense of connection. He can push himself up the hill to a neighborhood playing field where he can once again toss a ball around with friends. He can scoot along the gravel paths of Moshi to visit people again. "We believers, we know that anything that changes your life in terms of mobility, that is something that comes from heaven,'' said Munish. A 31-year-old wheelchair technician, he is one of six wheelchair users in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda who have been testing the prototype since August. Here's the full story <http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2010/03/08/mit_eng\ ineer_designs_wheelchair_that__takes_on_third_world_conditions/> with video: http://snipurl.com/uqgzd [www_boston_com]
