Biography
Mahender Mandala, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Associate in the
Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, Instructor for Product
Realization (RET) at the University of Pittsburgh, and a Research Associate at
the Human Engineering Research Laboratories. He received his doctorate in
Rehabilitation Science from the University of Pittsburgh (2016) where he worked
on improving feedback design students receive using peers and crowds (read more
here). In this direction he
is developing a web-based peer review tool, titled Peerval (expected release
Fall, 17). His work lies at the intersection of mechanical engineering, design,
education, and cognitive science. He has several years of experience in product
design and evaluation of assistive technology, and mixed-method research
designs. His interests include improving participatory action design of
assistive technology, creating tools and methodologies to improve collective
innovation and collaborative design outcomes, and advocating the use of
design-based learning in K-12.
