Katharine M. Hunter-Zaworski

Dr. Katharine M. Hunter-Zaworski is a Mechanical, Rehabilitation and Transportation Engineer and she combines academic, clinical, and industrial experience. Dr. Hunter-Zaworski has over 35 years of experience in accessible transportation, and is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the area of accessible public transportation. She has been the principal investigator (PI) on many large federally funded projects related to all modes of accessible public transportation. She was the PI of the Federal Railroad Administration FRA Project to Develop Accessibility Functional Requirements for the Next Generation of High Speed Trains, TCRP C-20 Project on the use of mobility devices on paratransit vehicles. Dr. Hunter-Zaworski conducts research with industrial partners including Boeing Commercial Aircraft where she has worked on accessible design with the aircraft interiors group.

In 2003, she founded the National Center for Accessible Transportation (NCAT) and was the PI of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) for Accessible Transportation from 2003 to 2009. The focus of the RERC was improving access to air travel for people with disabilities. In addition, Dr. Hunter-Zaworski provided technical assistance on the design of accessible aircraft lavatories and she is currently the Lavatory Working Group co-chair for the US ACCESS Committee that is developing recommendations for the Air Carrier Access Act.

Dr. Hunter-Zaworski has received several awards including the 2015 Bill Bell Award and for her work on the barrier free advanced transit system – SKYTRAIN in Vancouver. She has worked with Translink in Vancouver BC on a number of accessibility issues. She is an emeritus member and the past co-chair of the TRB Committee on Accessible Transportation and Mobility (ABE60). Dr. Hunter-Zaworski’s research experience has integrated biomechanics, human factors, engineering mechanics, and transportation engineering. She is a registered Professional Engineer in Oregon.

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