Wendy Rogers and Brian Pastor will lead a virtual tour of the McKechnie Family LIFE (Living in Interactive Future Environments) Home, a cutting-edge research center focused on innovations in home environments. This facility mimics existing home dwellings (i.e., typical home of today) as well as provides space for the development of next generation smart homes (i.e., house of tomorrow) that would allow people of all ages and abilities to live fuller, healthier, and autonomous lives. Spaces include a two-bedroom home; an attached garage; multi-purpose research and collaboration rooms; outdoor areas; and capacity for community engagement. Research and development efforts focus on a range of topics related to in-home activities to improve quality of life and independence.
Wendy Rogers is the Shahid and Ann Carlson Khan Professor of Applied Health Sciences, with her primary appointment in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health. She has an appointment in Educational Psychology and is affiliate of the Beckman Institute, Illinois Informatics Institute, Center for Social and Behavioral Science, and the Discovery Partners Institute. Her research interests include design for aging; technology acceptance; human-automation interaction; aging-in-place; human-robot interaction; aging with disabilities; cognitive aging; skill acquisition; and training.
Brian Pastor coordinates all logistics for the McKechnie Family LIFE Home, and is the Assistant Director for the Center on Health, Aging, and Disability and the Program Coordinator for Collaborations in Health, Aging, Research and Technology (CHART). Brian's research interests include examining stress as a variable in quality and longevity of life among first responders and the dissemination and application of health-related information among the LGBTQ+ population.
