Engineering shapes nearly every part of modern life, from transportation systems and communication networks to the devices people rely on every day. Increasingly, one of the field’s most important challenges is accessibility: designing technology, infrastructure and experiences that work for more people, across every stage of life.

That work is gaining national attention for CU Denver.

CU Denver’s Center of Innovative Design and Engineering (CIDE) was recently recognized on Forbes’ inaugural Accessibility 200 list, which highlights organizations and leaders advancing accessibility and disability inclusion across industries. The recognition reflects years of work happening inside the College of Engineering, Design and Computing (CEDC), where researchers, engineers, clinicians and students are building technologies designed not only to solve technical problems, but to expand independence, opportunity and quality of life.

For CIDE Director Cathy Bodine, PhD, the recognition reflects years of interdisciplinary work focused on one core idea: technology should work for more people.

“Our core mission is to catalyze technology solutions for people living with or aging into disability,” Bodine said. “It can be super low-tech, something as simple as a pencil grip, all the way to using AI for smart home technology, using eye gaze to type, or alternate voice output for people who are nonverbal.”

That mission reflects a broader shift happening across engineering and technology industries. Accessibility is no longer treated as a niche consideration or compliance requirement. It is becoming central to how products are designed, tested and deployed.

And demand is growing.

By 2050, an estimated 2.1 billion people worldwide will be living with a disability, nearly double today’s number. Aging populations, longer life expectancies and rapidly evolving technology are reshaping how engineers think about independence, mobility and participation in everyday life.

“In terms of our students, it’s really about creating the next generation of engineers so they can deal with the challenge,” Bodine said. “We’re going to need to develop and deploy a tremendous number of technology solutions in order for people to age in place, to be independent, to go to school, to go to work, to do whatever it is they want to do with their life.”

Why Forbes Recognized CU Denver

What distinguishes CU Denver’s approach is the way accessibility is embedded into engineering itself.

At CIDE, engineers work directly with clinicians, researchers, community members and individuals with disabilities throughout the design process. The people ultimately using the technology are not treated as test subjects or afterthoughts. They are collaborators.

“We do it with a user-centered focus — meaning the person with the disability is a full partner, every bit as vital to the process as the clinicians or the engineers,” said Jim Sandstrum, research senior instructor and industry services coordinator for CIDE.

That perspective changes the questions engineers ask, providing innovation that is practical and lived-in, not just theoretical.

“When we allow lived experience to guide our technical experts, we gain the ability to move beyond theoretical problem-solving to create tools that address the nuanced, real-world barriers that only those with lived experience can identify,” Sandstrum said. “That approach results in innovation that benefits everyone.”

The model has helped position CU Denver as a leader in accessible and inclusive design, with work that spans assistive robotics, adaptive technologies, accessible testing systems, rehabilitation engineering and user-experience research.

“I have looked everywhere and I have yet to find another program anywhere in the world like ours,” Bodine said. “This is how we’re going to design effective technology solutions: by having that inclusive approach for everything.”

Accessibility as a Career Field — and Economic Imperative

The Forbes recognition also reflects a broader shift happening across the technology economy.

Accessibility is no longer treated as a niche specialization or compliance issue. It is increasingly becoming standard practice in software development, product engineering, user experience design and healthcare technology. As accessibility becomes increasingly embedded across industries, demand for engineers who understand inclusive design continues to grow.

“There’s been a shift,” Sandstrum said. “From assistive technology as a side project to assistive technology as a defining aspect of your product.”

“Accessibility is now mainstream,” Bodine concurs. “It’s one of the fastest-growing career paths for engineering students.”

For students entering engineering today, accessibility expertise increasingly intersects with some of tech’s fastest-growing sectors, including AI, robotics, healthcare innovation and digital product design. Graduates coming out of CIDE move into roles with organizations including the Veterans Administration, Amazon, Microsoft and Medtronic, contributing to accessibility engineering, rehabilitation technologies, human factors and product design.

“Our students are just awesome,” Bodine said. “They’re wicked smart, they have heart and they really want to help humanity.”

Building Technology That Expands Opportunity

CIDE often describes its mission as supporting individuals “from womb to tomb,” reflecting a lifespan approach to accessibility. From neonatal care and K-12 education to workforce participation, aging in place and independent living, the center’s work touches nearly every stage of life.

“Our goal has always been to make the world a better place and an easier place for people with disabilities to navigate,” Bodine said.

Being named to the Forbes Accessibility 200 places CU Denver among organizations helping shape the future of inclusive technology worldwide. The recognition also underscores CU Denver’s role at the forefront of a larger shift reshaping engineering.

As accessibility becomes foundational to engineering and innovation, that future is already taking shape in our classrooms, research labs, clinical partnerships and community collaborations across Colorado and beyond.

At CU Denver’s College of Engineering, Design and Computing, students and researchers are at the forefront of a new era in engineering — one where accessibility drives innovation, expands opportunity and shapes how technology serves society.:

Explore how CU Denver’s Center of Innovative Design and Engineering (CIDE) is advancing accessible technology, innovative design and human-centered engineering through research, clinical partnerships and student innovation.