Mark Schmeler is the vice chair for education & training in the Department of Rehabilitation Science & Technology at the University of Pittsburgh. He oversees all aspects of the Master of Science curriculum in Rehabilitation Technology as well as Continuing Education in the field of Assistive Technology. He is also the director of the International Seating Symposium when hosted every other year in the U.S.
Schmeler has 30 years of clinical experience and continues to practice as an Occupational Therapist and Assistive Technology Professional in the Center for Assistive Technology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center which he helped establish in 1996 and directed until 2005. From 2009 to 2017, he directed a national contract and developed accredited Assistive Technology Clinics within the Veterans Administration's Polytrauma Rehabilitation and Spinal Cord Injury/Disorders Systems of Care.
He is the co-developer of the Functional Mobility Assessment and manages a registry of large data nationally and internationally related to mobility outcomes to assess the effectiveness of mobility assisted devices and service delivery models to more scientifically demonstrate what interventions work best for what types of people under varying disability and environmental conditions. Other research interests include the application of telerehabilitation, product development, and online education.
His specific graduate teaching responsibilities are in the area of assistive technology policy, funding, and management as well as clinical applications of wheelchair seating and mobility applying case-based and evidence based practice. He also works closely with national organizations as an advocate for appropriate access to assistive technology devices and services. He served on the RESNA Board of Directors and is a RESNA Fellow.