Inspired by her sister, engineering student designs a better wheelchair

December 20, 2019

Mary Radke, a senior mechanical engineering major, won first place in the undergraduate category at the Dec. 12 Engineering Pitch Competition.
Mary Radke, a senior mechanical engineering major, won first place in the undergraduate category at the Dec. 12 Engineering Pitch Competition. The competition was hosted by the College of Engineering, NUtech Ventures and the National Strategic Research Institute and featured engineering-based business pitches from 16 teams.

Mary Radke has firsthand experience with the transportation barriers faced by people who use wheelchairs.

Her own family has taken 29-hour road trips to California, because flying would require renting a car — and most rental cars don’t accommodate the type of wheelchair her sister, Elissa, depends on.

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