Miami University’s student section of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is proud to be a part of a community service project that designed and built a Remote Control Easel. After hearing about the struggles that Miami graduate student Matt Addison (Seven Mile, OH) faced, the students of ASME quickly decided to help.

Matt is a talented artist who had not been able to produce his paintings very easily since having a stroke that left him paralyzed on the left side of his body, and partially immobilized on the right side. The goal of this project was to allow Matt to create his artwork with greater ease and convenience. ASME President (at that time), Asha Ananthu (Brunswick, OH) took the lead and formed a team to design and construct the special Remote Control Easel that could hold a painting canvas, and that would move horizontally and vertically using a remote control. That way Matt could reach all areas of his art medium. The team worked very hard in hopes of making life easier for Matt.