Gerontechnology – Special Edition – Commentary
D. Plude
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AbstractI am humbled to contribute to this special edition that honors the appointment of Dr. Neil Charness as Grandmaster by the International Society of Gerontechnology. As outlined in his autobiography, Neil has had a distinguished career not only in the discipline of Cognitive Aging but also in Aging and Technology. The papers included in this special edition provide a nice representation of the issues that have driven Neil’s research from the outset and they reflect the multidimensionality of Neil’s interests. The Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE - https://create-center.ahs.illinois.edu/) has been supported continuously by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) since 1993, first as the Miami Center on Human Factors and Aging Research and subsequently (since 1999) as CREATE. Over that time, the project has been renewed four times, with each iteration offering important and groundbreaking initiatives in areas such as aging and interface design, videoconferencing, and health education. In his autobiography, Neil acknowledges important contributions by many of his colleagues, but one that bears special emphasis is the support and encouragement offered by Dr. Robin Barr, former Director of Extramural Activities at NIA, who had the vision and foresight to encourage Neil and his colleagues (Drs. Sara Czaja, Walter Boot, Wendy Rogers, Joe Sharit, Arthur [Dan] Fisk and Katinka Dijkstra) to pursue the CREATE concept and cultivate it into the unique resource it has become for supporting research on aging and technology. Another important historical antecedent of Neil’s sabbatical in Boston and his evolving expertise in aging was the pioneering work of Jim Fozard, who established the Mental Performance and Aging Laboratory (MPAL) at the Veteran’s Administration Outpatient Clinic during the 1970s and who has championed gerontechnology throughout his career, including his current role as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Gerontechnology and is providing the introduction to this Special Edition. I am compelled to single out these influences because I benefited from them directly as well during my own experience as an NIA Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellow at the MPAL (1980-1982).Keywords: Gerontechnology, aging, technology, cognition, communication, social connectedness, mobility, work, security, accessibility
D. Plude (2020). Gerontechnology – Special Edition – Commentary. Gerontechnology, 19(2), 147-151
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2020.19.2.007.00