QL+ Program Manager:
Scott Huyvaert
Colorado School of Mines is a public research university devoted to engineering and applied science. With the highest admission standards of any public university in Colorado and among the highest of any public university in the United States, “Mines” as the school is known, has been setting the standard since its founding in 1874. Producing industry-ready scientists and engineers, Mines students are well known for their work ethic, problem-solving ability, and team focus. Mines graduates are in great demand by companies and government entities around the world and are involved in solving many of the major technical and societal challenges of our times. Tenacity, talent, dedication, accountability, and social responsibility are hallmarks of this pioneering institution.
scott.huyvaert@qlplus.org
QL+ engineering students from Colorado School of Mines were tasked with finding a solution for a transtibial amputee to minimize the number of times his prosthetic would need to be removed for volumetric adjustment throughout the day. The goal was to produce a simple system that could be utilized within existing prosthetic sockets that could accommodate changes in the volume of the residual limb....
QL+ Engineering Students from Colorado School of Mines were challenged to design and create “soft socket shorties” to improve the quality of life of a QL+ Challenger and Army Veteran named Jeremy. Jeremy has been on nine deployments overseas. After safely returning from deployment, Jeremy was hit by a drunk driver in his driveway while loading his truck for a fishing trip. Jeremy is now a bilateral above-the-knee double amputee....
QL+ engineering students from Colorado School of Mines were tasked with the Hypersensitive Hearing Challenge. The focus of this project was to improve the quality of life of Humberto Reyna, a former North Carolina State Trooper and QL+ Challenger. About nine years ago, Humberto was in a tragic car accident while on duty which left him with a traumatic brain injury. One of the major effects of this accident is that he suffers from hyperacusis (hypersensitive hearing). This hyperacusis greatly limits his ability to be comfortable in a public setting where ambient noise is very loud and painful to him....
QL+ Students from Colorado School of Mines were tasked with the Challenge of designing a wheelchair to traverse the beach for QL+ Challenger and Navy Veteran, Nathan DeWalt. While serving in the Navy, Nathan was injured on a motorcycle while traveling home from a training exercise. Nathan lives in Florida and enjoys spending time with his wife daughters, traversing the beach with his family....
Velette Britt is an Air Force Veteran, who after a mountain bike accident, became a paraplegic. Despite this, she maintains an active lifestyle—she enjoys skiing and cycles, competitively. Students from Colorado School of Mines were tasked with the Challenge of helping Velette traverse curbs in her wheelchair....
This team was challenged to redesign a fishing mechanism for River Deep Alliance. This mechanism had been ineffective for them in the past when working with traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. Currently, no efficient commercial fishing equipment solutions suitable for quadriplegic, paraplegic, and also fully able-bodied users exist....
QL+ Engineering Students from Colorado School of Mines were tasked with designing and implementing a device to assist Veteran Naval Aviator and QL+ Challenger Captain Danny Knutson and his wife, with loading and unloading a recumbent trike from a hitch-mounted bike rack....
Our Challenger prefers to use a manual wheelchair as much as possible. He enjoys the outdoors but gets frustrated going down hills. Hand gripping the brake rail on the wheels quickly wears out gloves and makes it difficult to wear them for warmth....