Passing of Charles Radcliffe, D.Eng
Stark, Gerald
Description
Collection
Title:
Passing of Charles Radcliffe, D.Eng
Creator:
Stark, Gerald
Date:
12/13/2013
Text:
Dear ListServ Community,
I wanted to let everyone know of the passing of Charles Chuck Radcliffe, D.Eng on December 6, 2013 at the age of 90. Chuck was a prominent figure in O and P for many years and someone that helped shape many of the concepts in the modern era of prosthetics. I had the good fortune of getting to know and work with Chuck, where I learned about his pioneering work in transfemoral and transtibial biomechanics at the University of California-Berkeley with Vern Inman, James Foort and a variety of others.
I first learned of Chuck Radcliffe in my Mechanism Design textbook as an engineering student where he described the movement of a polycentric 4-bar prosthetic knee. When I met him in 1996, I had a chance to listen to his many discussions with Wes Prout about the development of the Horizontal Fixture, Berkeley Transfemoral Casting Brims and Stand, SACH Foot, Quadrilateral Socket, Transfemoral Alignment Fixture, and Transfemoral Alignment procedures among a variety of developments. Chuck was quick to remind me that he never used the TKA, but the Medial Bisector which he considered more accurate. He talked about the Zone of Stability and Control as well as the importance of polycentric knees not only in stability, but also optimized movement. Chuck was the principle investigator for the Prosthetics Research Group of the Biomechanics Laboratory at Berkeley for 35 years and professor in mechanical engineering from 1956-1988 and later served as a Professor Emeritus in the Mechanical Engineering Department. Many of his students including Larry Carlson, Ph.D, Mechanical Engineering Chair at the University of Colorado, went on to make significant contributions of their own .
Chuck was a true practitioner of science and corrected me that he had a D.Eng degree as a professional engineer rather than a theoretical one. He remained very mentally sharp in his later years and continued to design products and write software simulations well into his eighties. As a young practitioner, he often challenged my notions about socket, foot, and knee design as well as prosthetic alignment, but most of all how I conducted comparative analysis. When he received the Honorary Academy Membership for Lifetime Acheivement in 1997 in San Francisco rather than provide a flowery speech (as he termed it), he issued a challenge to all of the prosthetic community to learn more about biomechanics, alignment, and interface design to improve the practices that they were using. He was knowledgeable about a variety of things including Californian history, wildlife, and very proud of his family, especially his wife Martha of 64 years who went to law school and practiced as a well-known attorney after having their five children.
When you align a prosthesis, create an interface, or compare a prosthetic knee design, you will be employing many of the concepts that Chuck helped develop and formulate. Many of the terms and concepts that we currently use were developed by Chuck and taught in the early O & P programs. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from him. I only hope that I can continue to answer his challenge that I continually recommit to increase and refine my understanding of prosthetic design to optimize functionality for patients.
<URL Redacted>
Gerald Stark, MSEM, CPO/L, FAAOP
Senior Upper Limb Clinical Specialist
Ottobock
14630 28th Avenue N.
Minneapolis, MN 55447
M 612.270.7363
F 763.253.5768
<Email Address Redacted> <mailto:<Email Address Redacted>>
www.ottobockus.com< <URL Redacted>>
Confidential:
This email or the documents accompanying this transmission may contain protected health or other confidential information. The information contained in this e-mail is intended solely for the personal and confidential use of the recipient(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient(s), you are hereby notified that any improper disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this e-mail or its accompanying documents is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email or the documents accompanying this transmission in error, immediately notify the sender by e-mail and delete the original message.
[cid:1AF96219-34FD-46D0-B3CA-8FBE0BB71328@setup]
I wanted to let everyone know of the passing of Charles Chuck Radcliffe, D.Eng on December 6, 2013 at the age of 90. Chuck was a prominent figure in O and P for many years and someone that helped shape many of the concepts in the modern era of prosthetics. I had the good fortune of getting to know and work with Chuck, where I learned about his pioneering work in transfemoral and transtibial biomechanics at the University of California-Berkeley with Vern Inman, James Foort and a variety of others.
I first learned of Chuck Radcliffe in my Mechanism Design textbook as an engineering student where he described the movement of a polycentric 4-bar prosthetic knee. When I met him in 1996, I had a chance to listen to his many discussions with Wes Prout about the development of the Horizontal Fixture, Berkeley Transfemoral Casting Brims and Stand, SACH Foot, Quadrilateral Socket, Transfemoral Alignment Fixture, and Transfemoral Alignment procedures among a variety of developments. Chuck was quick to remind me that he never used the TKA, but the Medial Bisector which he considered more accurate. He talked about the Zone of Stability and Control as well as the importance of polycentric knees not only in stability, but also optimized movement. Chuck was the principle investigator for the Prosthetics Research Group of the Biomechanics Laboratory at Berkeley for 35 years and professor in mechanical engineering from 1956-1988 and later served as a Professor Emeritus in the Mechanical Engineering Department. Many of his students including Larry Carlson, Ph.D, Mechanical Engineering Chair at the University of Colorado, went on to make significant contributions of their own .
Chuck was a true practitioner of science and corrected me that he had a D.Eng degree as a professional engineer rather than a theoretical one. He remained very mentally sharp in his later years and continued to design products and write software simulations well into his eighties. As a young practitioner, he often challenged my notions about socket, foot, and knee design as well as prosthetic alignment, but most of all how I conducted comparative analysis. When he received the Honorary Academy Membership for Lifetime Acheivement in 1997 in San Francisco rather than provide a flowery speech (as he termed it), he issued a challenge to all of the prosthetic community to learn more about biomechanics, alignment, and interface design to improve the practices that they were using. He was knowledgeable about a variety of things including Californian history, wildlife, and very proud of his family, especially his wife Martha of 64 years who went to law school and practiced as a well-known attorney after having their five children.
When you align a prosthesis, create an interface, or compare a prosthetic knee design, you will be employing many of the concepts that Chuck helped develop and formulate. Many of the terms and concepts that we currently use were developed by Chuck and taught in the early O & P programs. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from him. I only hope that I can continue to answer his challenge that I continually recommit to increase and refine my understanding of prosthetic design to optimize functionality for patients.
<URL Redacted>
Gerald Stark, MSEM, CPO/L, FAAOP
Senior Upper Limb Clinical Specialist
Ottobock
14630 28th Avenue N.
Minneapolis, MN 55447
M 612.270.7363
F 763.253.5768
<Email Address Redacted> <mailto:<Email Address Redacted>>
www.ottobockus.com< <URL Redacted>>
Confidential:
This email or the documents accompanying this transmission may contain protected health or other confidential information. The information contained in this e-mail is intended solely for the personal and confidential use of the recipient(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient(s), you are hereby notified that any improper disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this e-mail or its accompanying documents is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email or the documents accompanying this transmission in error, immediately notify the sender by e-mail and delete the original message.
[cid:1AF96219-34FD-46D0-B3CA-8FBE0BB71328@setup]
Citation
Stark, Gerald, “Passing of Charles Radcliffe, D.Eng,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 25, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/235881.
