ATLANTA, GA, October 14, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Jared Richard Grier has been recognized for achievement in rehabilitation engineering.

An emerging leader in the field of rehabilitation engineering, Mr. Grier has led a career marked by innovation, technical expertise and a deep commitment to improving the lives of individuals with disabilities. Since 2021, he has served as a rehabilitation engineer at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where he meets with therapists and patients to identify their functional needs and designs and prototypes custom adaptive equipment and assistive devices. He then tests and iterates his solutions directly with patients, publishing open-source designs for use throughout the community.

Furthermore, Mr. Grier strives to build partnerships with charities and third-party organizations and supports his staff with their technical design and fabrication needs. His work at Shepherd Center is informed by his own lived experience as a wheelchair user with paralysis from the chest down, which gives him unique insights into the challenges faced by patients and their families.

In addition to his work at Shepard Center, Mr. Grier became the owner of Designed By Grier in 2024. Through this venture, he continues to apply his expertise in design, 3D printing and fabrication services, adaptive equipment and custom electronics to develop solutions that help other companies and individuals address unmet needs within the disability community.

Prior to reaching his current roles, Mr. Grier served as an engineer at Aquiline Drones in Hartford, Connecticut, from 2020 to 2021, contributing to unmanned aircraft system (UAS) projects and designing floor plans that increased manufacturing space. From 2019 to 2020, he was an engineer at Parametric Solutions Inc., where he gained valuable hands-on experience in gas turbine engineering applications.

Mr. Grier's contributions to the field are further highlighted by his consecutive successes at the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals Innovation Lab competition from 2022 to 2025. In 2022, he received the High Tech Award for designing an adaptive deodorant holder that can be universally clipped onto various deodorant types. The following year, he collaborated with a therapist on a low-cost self-feeding device for individuals with limited movement below the neck or shoulders, which ultimately earned the People's Choice Award.

Continuing his dedication to innovative services that improve the lives of others, in 2024 Mr. Grier developed a mouth stick grabber that features a motorized grabber activated by biting on a switch, enabling people with little or no arm function to participate in board and card games; this innovation also won the People's Choice Award. In 2025, he created an adaptive hair straightener for individuals with lower cervical spinal cord injuries who have arm movement but lack hand function, securing the First Place Award at that year's competition.

Many of Mr. Grier's projects are available for download through the Shepherd Center community page online, providing invaluable open-source resources for individuals who seek adaptive solutions.

Hailing from an equally accomplished academic background, Mr. Grier earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2019. Determined to make an impact outside the classroom as well, he served as a teaching assistant in computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software and automated machining courses for four years and was an ambassador for the school's Office of Disability Services.

Mr. Grier's path into rehabilitation engineering was shaped by personal experience after he sustained a spinal cord injury in 2015 following a fall that resulted in paralysis from the chest down. After undergoing three months of rehabilitation at Shepherd Center, where he would later return as a professional, he completed his degree and began applying his mechanical aptitude toward solving the challenges faced by people with disabilities. He credits his success to his ability to break down mechanisms and evaluate them systematically, as well as perseverance through significant adversity and empathy for others facing similar obstacles.

Beyond his professional responsibilities, Mr. Grier is known for his work with civic-minded organizations, including collaborations with AbleGamers and the Respawn Foundation on projects that expand access to gaming for people with disabilities. Also a volunteer for the United Spinal Association's Atlanta chapter and collaborator with Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM), he engages in important efforts to promote accessibility solutions within both local and international communities.

On a personal level, Mr. Grier is happily engaged to be married and enjoys spending time with his fiancée and dog, socializing with friends and playing video games. His middle name, Richard, honors his late grandfather who was also an engineer, symbolizing both his family legacy and inspiration within his life story. Outside of his work endeavors, designing and building engineering projects that help others remains a hobby as well as a passion.

Determined to further his impact in the coming years, Mr. Grier aims to bring a new design to market that will benefit individuals with disabilities on a global scale while continuing to grow within Shepherd Center and deepen his impact on patients' lives. He also intends to further strengthen his relationships with organizations like Tikkun Olam Makers to create more opportunities for students interested in rehabilitation engineering, finding more ways to positively impact people's lives through engineering solutions that are tailored for both accessibility and independence.

# # #