Dr. Rory Cooper to receive Paralympic Scientific Award

Dr. Rory Cooper has been elected as the recipient of the IPC's Paralympic Scientific Award. He will receive the honour at the VISTA2013 Conference in Bonn, Germany, scheduled from 1-4 May. The award recognises researchers' contributions to advancements in the field of sports for persons with an impairment. In this sense it functions as promotion and encouragement for further studies in this area.

Cooper is the founding director of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories at the University of Pittsburgh in the USA and has contributed to the Paralympic Movement as an athlete, coach, event organiser and sport scientist. He has worked significantly to create and evaluate new sports technologies, advancing equipment used in wheelchair racing, handcycling, wheelchair tennis and seated throwing events. Cooper's research has appeared in more than 270 scientific publications, 1,000 abstracts, 100 magazines and five books.

Registration for the VISTA2013 Conference remains open until 1 April 2013. The VISTA2013 Conference will bring together some of the world's leading experts on technology and equipment in Paralympic sport to discuss in-depth issues surrounding the recent London 2012 Paralympic Games.

For more information about the VISTA2013 Conference, please visit www.vista2013.com