We Are Passionate About What We Do
Our team is devoted to user-centered research and development to identify solutions to societal, functional, and policy issues that affect everyday activities in the home.

Team Members
- Wendy A. Rogers, Ph.D.Director Wendy A. Rogers, Ph.D., is the Shahid and Ann Carlson Khan Professor of Applied Health Sciences. Her primary appointment […]
- Harshal Mahajan, Ph.D.Assistant Director of Research Harshal P. Mahajan, Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor in the College of Applied Health Sciences. […]
- Robert PawlikRobert is overseeing use of research facilities, designing processes and procedures for the lab operations including safety and environmental consideration […]
- Alyssa StanfieldCHESOperations Manager Alyssa Stanfield, is the Assistant Director for the Center on Health, Aging, and Disability (CHAD), and the Program […]
- Samuel A. Olatunji, Ph.D.Samuel is a Post-doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health. He serves as a research fellow […]
Current Interns
Joanna Huang is a junior studying Computer Science and minoring in Disability Studies and Interdisciplinary Health Technology. She is passionate about accessible computing and assistive technology. In particular, she aims to utilize software to facilitate daily tasks for individuals with disabilities and enable them to live with greater independence. Her current work with the Stretch RE1 Robot involves programming the autonomous mobile robot to complete an Independent Activity of Daily Living (IADL) table cleaning task.
Sierra Speckmann is the current intern for CHART (Collaborations Health, Aging, Research, and Technology). She also works as an intern for McKechnie Family Life Home. She currently attends the University of Illinois as a Business and Communication Major and hopes to one day have a career in Marketing! Her research interests include neighborhood influence on health for older adults with chronic conditions and the effects of fossil fuels on the environment.
Intern Alumni
Maya Dye – 2021
Vedant Rakshe – 2022
Ben Granados – 2022
Our team is
energetic, creative, diverse, interdisciplinary,
transgenerational, multicultural
with a shared passion for improving lives.
Acknowledgments
The McKechnie Family LIFE Home would not have been possible without the contributions of those listed below. The entire McKechnie Family LIFE Home team would like to sincerely thank those listed for their contributions to the completion of this project.
Planning
- Bill Goodman
- Jeff Woods
- Kesh Kesavadas
- Brian Jones
- Jon Sanford
Design and Construction
- Tilton Kelly Bell LLC Architecture (Kim Sarchet)
- JohnCo Construction
- Bodine Electrical
- Clarence Odom
Interior Design
- Deana McDonagh
- Stocks Furniture (Terry Martin)
Administrative
- Mike Bohlmann
- Elizabeth Clawson
- Matt Drain
- Bryan Jones
- Mark Joseph
- Suzanne Rinehart
Web Design
- Brett Luce
- Dick Detzner
- Tom Eggemeier
- Barry Beith