Directory

Adam Bleakney's directory photo.

Adam Bleakney

Research Affiliate

Primary Affiliation

Cognition, Lifespan Engagement, Aging, and Resilience

Affiliations

Status Affiliate Faculty

Home Disability Resources and Educational Services

Phone

Email bleakney@illinois.edu

Address

  • Biography

    Adam Bleakney is a research affiliate at the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services. He has served as the head coach of the University of Illinois wheelchair track and road racing team since 2005. In that time his athletes have won 55 medals across four paralympic games while setting 14 world records on the track, and have won the Boston Marathon, London Marathon, Chicago Marathon, and New York City Marathon. In recognition of such performances, he has been named the USOC U.S. Paralympic Coach of the Year on three occasions.

    In 2017, he established the UIUC Human Performance and Mobility Maker Lab, an interdisciplinary lab where students with and without disabilities collaborate to design and develop assistive technology. As director of the HPML, Bleakney is faculty in the School of Art + Design at UIUC.

    He has also consulted with BMW, Toyota, Bridgestone Americas, and several Champaign-based start-ups in advancing racing wheelchair and other accessible technology research and development initiatives.

    Education

    • M.S., print journalism, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2002
    • B.A., English literature, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000
  • Honors
    • 2019: Chancellor's Academic Professional Excellence Award
    • 2016: USPOC U.S. Paralympic Coach of the Year
    • 2015: USOPC Doc Counsilman Science Award
    • 2015: USPOC U.S. Paralympic Coach of the Year
    • 2009: Alexis Wernsing Innovation Award
    • 2007: USPOC U.S. Paralympic Coach of the Year
  • Research

    Research areas:

    • U.S paraolympics

    • assistive technology

    • advancing racing wheelchairs

    Research interests:

    • graphic design

    • men’s and women’s track, field, and racing

    Bleakney conducts research related to assistive technology and devices for individuals with disabilities as well as research related to human performance, specifically for athletes with disabilities.

    At the Beckman Institute, he collaborates with Deana McDonagh, a professor of art and design and the 2022 Beckman Institute Vision and Spirit Award winner, in the research, development, and testing of novel and improved technologies, strategies and techniques to facilitate increased participation in daily activities leading to improved quality of life for individuals with disabilities.

  • 2024

    • A user-inspired mobility experience of the future: a qualitative investigation Peters, J., Chen, M., Huang, K., Siero, M., Elliot, J., Bleakney, A., Hsiao-Wecksler, E. and McDonagh, D., 2024, (Accepted/In press) In: Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology.
    • Driving a Ballbot Wheelchair with Hands-Free Torso Control Song, S. Y., Mansouri, M., Bleakney, A. W., Elliott, J. R., Marin, N., Ramos, J., McDonagh, D. C., Malik, P. B., Xiao, C., Chen, Y., Norris, W. R. and Hsiao-Wecksler, E. T., Mar 11 2024, HRI 2024 - Proceedings of the 2024 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. IEEE Computer Society, p. 678-686 9 p. (ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction).
    • Effect of adaptive sports on quality of life in individuals with disabilities who use wheelchairs: a mixed-methods systematic review Chen, P., Yu, H., Lin, C. F., Guo, J., Elliott, J., Bleakney, A. and Jan, Y. K., Feb 8 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. p. 1-17 17 p.
    • Effects of alternating pressure patterns on sacral skin blood flow responses in people with spinal cord injury Pauly, S., Mo, P.-C., Elliott, J., Bleakney, A., Pappu, S. and Jan, Y.-K., Feb 2024, In: International Wound Journal. 21, 2, p. e14792 e14792.
    • User-driven product development: Designed by, not designed for Peters, J., Bleakney, A., Sornson, A., Hsiao-Wecksler, E. and McDonagh, D., 2024, In: Design Journal. 27, 1, p. 133-152 20 p.

    2023

    • Design and Validation of a Torso-Dynamics Estimation System (TES) for Hands-Free Physical Human-Robot Interaction Song, S. Y., Guo, Y., Yuan, C., Marin, N., Xiao, C., Bleakney, A., Elliott, J., Ramos, J. and Hsiao-Wecksler, E. T., 2023, 2023 32nd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, RO-MAN 2023. IEEE Computer Society, p. 171-178 8 p. (IEEE International Workshop on Robot and Human Communication, RO-MAN).

    2022

    • Effect of durations and pressures of cupping therapy on muscle stiffness of triceps Li, Y., Mo, P. C., Jain, S., Elliott, J., Bleakney, A., Lyu, S. and Jan, Y. K., Nov 17 2022, In: Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. 10, 996589.

    2021

    • Using elastographic ultrasound to assess the effect of cupping size of cupping therapy on stiffness of triceps muscle Jan, Y.-K., Hou, X., He, X., Guo, C., Jain, S. and Bleakney, A., 2021, In: American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 100, 7, p. 694-699 6 p.

    2018

    • Engineering and Technology in Wheelchair Sport Cooper, R. A., Tuakli-Wosornu, Y. A., Henderson, G. V., Quinby, E., Dicianno, B. E., Tsang, K., Ding, D., Cooper, R., Crytzer, T. M., Koontz, A. M., Rice, I. & Bleakney, A. W., May 2018, In: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America. 29, 2, p. 347-369 23 p.

    2015

    • The Influence of Glove Type on Simulated Wheelchair Racing Propulsion: A Pilot Study Rice, I., Dysterheft, J., Bleakney, A. W. and Cooper, R. A., Oct 28 2015, In: International Journal of Sports Medicine. 37, 1, p. 30-35 6 p.