We’re all going to die, for sure. But there’s also a chance that any of us could become disabled before that happens, making living a much tougher experience.

Dr. Maysam Ghovanloo has spent his life striving to help people with severe disabilities using relatively simple technologies.  He  combines his interest in design with his passion for developing medical instruments to satisfy needs of those with the most severe disabilities.

The Grant Park resident is one of the dozen speakers Nov. 2 at the Buckhead Theatre featured at the latest TEDxPeachtree event. Tickets are still available!

“Any one of us might end up with a certain degree of disability over the course of our lifetime,” he said.

Ghovanloo is internationally renowned for developing a wireless and wearable assistive technology, called Tongue Drive, that allows individuals with paralysis to drive their wheelchairs by moving their tongues.

“I think there needs to be more attention paid to improving the lives of people who are living with a disability,” he said. We often take crucial elements of living for granted—speaking, walking and even breathing. Ghovanloo says this population of people is growing as a result of the aging society, and finding innovative ways to empower these people is becoming more important.

TEDxPeachtree speakers take to the stage every year to share with Atlantans the innovative research, growth and advancement that stems from their communities. Although Dr. Maysam Ghovanloo has traveled the world, shaping the medical landscape from Tehran, Iran, to Ann Arbor, Mich., he’s now lives in Grant Park with his wife near his job as associate professor at Georgia Tech. In addition to being a faculty member in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, he’s also the founding director of the GT-Bionics Laboratory.

Ghovanloo says he enjoys being in the company of smart, ambitious and highly energetic people, and likes to empower people to achieve their goals. “These all come together in being a professor,” he said. And they’ll come together at the TEDxPeachtree conference Nov. 2.

Written by Maria Stephens/ Contributor

Maria Stephens is a marketing professional working at Emcien Corporation (@EmcienCorp). She enjoys reading nonfiction and learning as much as possible. Maria was born in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and speaks fluent Russian.