Since he was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident in 1966, the engineer Ralf Hotchkiss has devoted himself to improving a product that does not often receive much attention from those who do not use it: the wheelchair. Hotchkiss is now considered one of the world's leading inventors of wheelchairs, but he has pursued his quest with something more in mind than improved performance: lower cost and wider distribution. On a trip to Nicaragua in the 1980s, Hotchkiss had his first exposure to the chronic shortage of wheelchairs in developing countries. In 1989 he formed the Wheeled Mobility Center, later called Whirlwind Wheelchair International. The organization sought to not only design lower-cost wheelchairs better suited to less easily navigable conditions, but to train students around the world how to create wheelchairs from commonly available local materials. Whirlwind has established a network of 35 manufacturing sites, which have produced more than 15,000 wheelchairs for users globally.

Apart from being Distinguished Research Scientist and Technical Director of Whirlwind, Hotchkiss, in 1985, cofounded the Rehabilitation Engineering Program at San Francisco State University. His wheelchairs have been featured in numerous publications as well as exhibited in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and he has been recognized on many occasions for his work, including being named a MacArthur Foundation fellow in 1989 and receiving the Henry B. Betts Award in 1994. Hotchkiss estimates the worldwide wheelchair need at 20 million, a figure that certainly underscores the importance of his work.