Advancing Research and Innovation for Aging and Disability (ARIAD)

A CU Denver Research and
Creative Work Grand Challenge

The Goal

The ARIAD team aims to cultivate a powerful collaborative network of academic experts, community stakeholders, and local, national, and international industry advisors and partners to address the grand challenge of aging and aging into disability facing our world today. Funding and research support is provided by CU Denver in order to lay the foundation for building CU Denver’s reputation as a leader in research and creative work.

Project Information

ARIAD’s consortium of experts will converge to explore, develop, and deploy safe, productive, and efficient technologies to support the needs of those living with, or aging into, disability.

Leveraging and evolving CU Denver and Anschutz’s nationally recognized foundational programs is a key component of ARIAD’s plan. CIDE with its knowledge of assistive technology and human factors and design provides a vital strategic partnership. When partnered with the rest of the ARIAD group, the project team is equipped with expertise ranging from engineering to medicine to humanities and adult education. Collectively, ARIAD will forge new paths and propel creation of new knowledge to change lives by improving overall wellbeing and independence for those aging into or living with disability.

The outcome will not only make CU Denver a global destination for disability and aging technology innovation but will also make significant strides toward addressing the Grand Challenge facing our world today - how do we redesign our world when, for the first time in human history, our planet has more people over 65 than under the age of five?

Contact us to learn more or to join the effort!

Email Dr. Cathy Bodine: cathy.bodine@cuanschutz.edu
Email Dr. Caroline Clevenger: caroline.clevenger@ucdenver.edu

The Challenge

Public speaker in wheelchair in group with other adult lecturers.

One Billion

People live with disabilities worldwide.

Society is Aging

By 2030, one out of every five Americans will be at or above retirement age

Demand Fuels Innovation

One in two older adults will experience disability as they age.

Team Members

Theodore Edmonds JD

Associate Professor-Research Master of Humanities and Master of Social Science

Denver Campus - Humanities and MSSocSci

Email Address:theodore.edmonds@ucdenver.edu

Bio

Theo is a Research Associate Professor for CU Denver’s Master of Humanities and Master of Social Science programs. He is a Culture Futurist™ and innovator with experience working globally across sectors to inspire, plan, design, and deliver sustainable cultural transformation projects, demonstrate their impact, and identify opportunities to evolve and grow. He is an experienced builder of industry-university collaborations and also a cultural analytics inventor and developer of next-generation Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives in the creative economy. He was named one of "50 People Changing the Face of the South" by Southern Living Magazine. Theo has 25 years of senior-level strategic national and international leadership experience spanning the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. He has a track record of success in fundraising from foundations, corporations, individuals, and governments to support innovative programs and upskilling core staff to support program design.

Center for Inclusive Design and Engineering (CIDE)

CU Denver

The Hub, Bioengineering

1224 5th Street

Suite 130

Denver, CO 80204

303-315-1280

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