Peter Axelson, the founder and Director of R&D of Beneficial Designs, Inc., is a rehabilitation engineer who sustained a spinal cord injury in a climbing accident at the Air Force Academy. He continued his education at Stanford where he began applying engineering and design principles to overcome daily challenges faced by people with disabilities. In 1981 he founded Beneficial Designs, Inc. an engineering design firm dedicated to designing, developing, and testing assistive technologies. His accomplishments include developing all sorts of adaptive sports equipment including the first chairlift-compatible mono-ski with a shock absorber, working to establish wheelchair testing standards, and developing seating systems for wheelchairs.

Peter was honored to serve on the Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee to the US Access Board where he participated in developing the ABA Guidelines for Outdoor Recreation Access for all types of recreational facilities including ski areas, amusement parks, camping areas, trails, and golf courses. Beneficial Designs also wrote a book on Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Access

for Federal Highways and participated in the development of the Public Rights of Way Accessibility Guidelines. Peter then went on to design and create assessment processes and equipment to assess outdoor recreation trails and sidewalks. He continues to run Beneficial Designs, which tests wheelchairs and assesses sidewalks and trails.

As the Chair of the RESNA Assistive Technology for Air Travel (ATAT) Committee and active member of many other RESNA committees, Peter’s current passion is working on facilitating access solutions for commercial air travel and ski lifts in North America. More information about Peter and his accomplishments is listed in his biography in the RESNA Hall of Fellows.