OUR TEAM

Dr. Martha Hall

Director of Innovation

Dr. Hall is the Director of Innovation of Health Sciences at the University of Delaware. She is also an Assistant Professor in Health Sciences, with appointments in Biomechanics & Movement Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Fashion Studies, and the Horn Entrepreneurship program. Trained as a fashion designer, Dr. Hall has applied her design expertise to improving patient health. Whether it be building soft exoskeletons to enhance the mobility of disabled children or creating comfortable and expressive medical devices, Dr. Hall’s research is driven by one goal: to holistically improve patient health outcomes using a patient-centered approach.

Jessica Smith

Jessica Smith

Staff

Bio

Jessica joined the Innovation Lab in November 2019 and assists the Director in all research initiatives, especially with coordinating and implementing the First Step program. Prior to coming to UD Jessica worked at The Columbus Organization and the State of Delaware Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDDS) as a Case Worker for 3 years where she was an Advocate for Individuals with Disabilities and their families. Before DDDS, Jessica was self-employed and owned and operated Cherry Lane Family Day Care for 8 years. She also worked in a variety of positions, including Operational Risk Management, for a local bank for 12 years. Jessica loves to travel and can be found with her Jeep parked at the beach most summer weekends, hanging out with friends and family.

Marjan Ashrafi

Marjan Ashrafi

Staff

Bio

My name is Marjan and I have a Bachelor’s in Fashion Design from the University of Delaware and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from my home in Iran. I came from diverse culture and the Innovation Lab helps me view the world from a different angle by combining my fashion background with my passion for enhancing the lives of others. I established my own line of dress called Coral back in Iran since the summer of 2017. I have two children and my hobbies include exercising and browsing the web to update myself on the latest fashion news and trends.

LAB TEAM

Becca Davis

Becca Davis

Undergraduate Student Researcher

My name is Becca Davis and I am a Mechanical Engineering PhD student. I joined the Innovation Health and Design lab to improve performance for athletes and individuals with disabilities. Currently, I am designing an exoskeleton that can induce safer impact conditions for soldiers jumping from large heights.

Nate George

Nate George

Undergraduate Student Researcher

I am a freshman honors Neuroscience major with minors in Biological Sciences and Exercise Science. Working at this lab has been one of the most enlightening and fun experiences I have ever had, as I have been able to watch our seedling idea grow into a functional prototype in the span of just a few months. Our team’s project is the walking boot project, which seeks to redesign current walking boots to not only be less heavy, but also more customizable, fashionable, and waterproof. As an avid runner, being on this project has been a blessing, as I can truly see our product directly aiding recovering athletes across the world. For this project, we use handheld 3D scanners to individually scan each patient’s lower leg and create a custom orthotic mold using modeling software and 3D printers.

Catherine Harty

Catherine Harty

Undergraduate Student Researcher

My name is Catherine Harty and I am a senior physics major with a concentration in Astrophysics and a minor in Mathematics. I chose this lab because it combines the skills I have learned in my major together with my hobby of sewing and designing clothing. I have been working at the Innovation Health & Design Lab since June 2019. My current project is called HensWear which focuses on designing, developing, and testing protective face masks for the UD men’s and women’s basketball teams. This project involves using the 3D body scanner located in our lab to record all the individual measurements for each of the basketball players, so their custom face masks are able to be made.

Nate Robison

Nate Robison

Undergraduate Student Researcher

I am a junior Fine Arts major with a Disability Studies minor. I am passionate about the opportunity for art and design to be used as a tool to help people living with disabilities have more autonomy, so when I learned about the Innovation Lab, I knew I had to get involved! Our current project is designing specialized shoes, and it is a very rewarding experience to be able to do something so hands-on, and that requires so much learning. I also am working with a team through the First Step program and Nemours to develop and produce prosthetic covers for children with lower limb prosthetics, which would allow them much more personal control over what their prosthetics look like. In the future, I really hope to be able to go to grad school and do more research and build a career that allows me to work with many different kinds of people, doing what I care about.

Vicki Silverman

Vicki Silverman

Undergraduate Student Researcher

My name is Vicki Silverman and I am a junior majoring in Apparel Design. What drew me to the innovation lab was my interest in functional apparel and textile science; I wished to have the opportunity to further research these topics and apply that knowledge to create various solutions to problems that many people face in their daily life. When I first began volunteering at the lab in the fall semester of my sophomore year, I was working on researching postural control garments for children with Cerebral Palsy and ways to make their lives, and those of their caregivers, more comfortable and less stressful. I am currently moving between a few different projects and I am excited to be gaining knowledge on a variety of other topics on which the lab focuses. A future goal of mine is to attend graduate school where I may gain more of the knowledge and skills required to do further research on functional apparel and have the ability to truly apply them to my work.

LAB ALUMNI

  • Tanisa Arrington
  • Caitlin Berger
  • Hannah Bockius
  • Clare Bohn
  • Trinity Brown
  • Kyle Cardno
  • Lily Checkoff
  • Michael Cirrone
  • Juliana Clark
  • Carissa Confeiteiro
  • Desarae Costanzo
  • Elizabeth DeBruin
  • Karima Drame
  • Kyle Ernst
  • Lucky Farha
  • Lauren Freebery
  • Sarah Garcon
  • Tori Glover
  • Jarrett Godfried
  • Byron Kasper
  • Danielle Kempner
  • Amy Klose
  • Heidi Knutsen
  • Karissa Kowlessar
  • Samantha Lampert
  • Ezra Lee
  • Kasey Lehner
  • Briana D Marco
  • Thomas Mascitelli
  • Michael Massari
  • Kiersten McCormack
  • Alexa McGhee
  • Ahlad Neti
  • Antoinette Portnoy
  • Sydney Rausa
  • Sara Read
  • Alhaji Saccoh
  • Samantha Skubik
  • Nicole Tener
  • Modesty Tyler
  • Emily Van Der Moore
  • Kirsten Willoughby
  • Gabriella Zarlenga
  • Haobo Zhang
  • Mandy Zicherman