Dr. Rory Cooper
Rory A. Cooper, Ph.D. earned B.S. and M. Eng. degrees in electrical engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 1985 and 1986, respectively. He earned a Ph.D. degree in electrical & computer engineering with a concentration in bioengineering from University of California at Santa Barbara in 1989. He is FISA & Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Professor and Distinguished Professor of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and professor of Bioengineering, Physical Med & Rehab, and Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). Cooper is Founding Director and VA Senior Research Career Scientist of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories a VA Rehabilitation R&D Center in partnership with Pitt. Cooper is an adjunct professor in the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, and PM&R of the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, and he was awarded Honorary Doctorate by Xi’an Jiatong University. Cooper has authored or co-authored over 375 peer-reviewed journal publications. He has over 30 patents awarded or pending. Cooper is the author of two books: "Rehabilitation Engineering Applied to Mobility and Manipulation” and “Wheelchair Selection and Configuration”, and co-editor of “An Introduction to Rehabilitation Engineering”, “Warrior Transition Leader: Medical Rehabilitation Handbook”, “Promoting Successful Integration”, and the award-winning book “Care of the Combat Amputee”.
