Dr. Diane L. Peters

Cool - @KetteringU is featured in Inside Higher Education! insidehighered.com/opinion/column…

Calling all licensed industrial and systems #engineers: shape the future of your profession by participating in an online survey for the PE Industrial and Systems exam. The survey will be open until June 12, 2026. ncees.org/IndustrialPAKS #engineering #EWeek2026 #EngineersWeek

For everyone who wants to join us for the NIH Listening session here is the link to sign up! Mom will be presenting an oral comment on the importance of service dog inclusion to science and biosafety oversight! Thank you for your support! osp.od.nih.gov/events/strengt…

📣 Scholarship Update — Spring 2026 Great news! The Sampson’s Legacy Foundation has extended the application deadline for our Spring 2026 Academic Scholarship 🎓🐾 This scholarship supports students with a disability pursuing higher education—because access, inclusion, and opportunity should never be limited. If you—or a student you know—could benefit from academic or accommodation-related support, there’s still time to apply. ✨ Deadline extended to Feb 20th. ✨ Open to qualified students with a disability ✨ STEM and non-STEM fields welcome 👉 Apply now and help us spread the word. Because education should be accessible to every capable mind. Apply here: sampsonslegacyfoundation.com/scholarship-ap…

@sampson_dog @500womensci Also featured in @ASEE_DC Prism magazine Winter issue! One of two books highlighted this issue in the On My Shelf column.

We cannot be more proud of this! Thank you to @500womensci for including our book “INSISTENT” on your recommended books to read list for 2026! What an incredible honor!

SPRING SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY!!! Please share! Applications for the Sampsons Legacy Foundation 2026 Spring Scholarships are now open! These scholarships are for all students who have an identified disability. Scholarship applications will close on January 31, 2026 at 11:59pm. sampsonslegacyfoundation.com/scholarship-ap…

SPRING 2026 SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION OPENS IN 6 DAYS! January 1, 2026 we will be opening the applications for the Sampsons Legacy Foundation Scholarship Awards. Mark your calendar! To continue providing $1000's of dollars a year in academic scholarships to outstanding students with disabilities - we need your help! Please give the gift of an education, or financial aid to students who are in need. We can continue to make this happen with YOUR generosity! We will be highlighting some of our previous award recipients over the coming weeks! Your donations make a difference in our future! Thank you all! To make a donation: sampsonslegacyfoundation.com/donate-now

@servicerotties @socojennedwards Thanks for the detailed answer! That explains the challenges really well. I can see why you've chosen the leaf blower.

It would probably make it difficult for getting in and out of doors so then it needs to be stored somewhere accessible. Unless it was narrow and mounted right on the front, but that can be difficult because that's where people's legs typically are. One of the other challenges is that you're seated lower in a wheelchair than a person standing so if there's any wind you're getting a face full of snow. And it might be really hard to reach the parts of the chair needed to attach. That's why the leaf blower tends to be a little bit easier. Lightweight, doesn't end up making the chair wider than the door, and can be used at the side or whatever angle you need to to try and not get covered in snow although I still somehow manage to come in looking like a snowball

We got hit with a major snowfall. Great fun for me but the human is spending so much time trying to clear it with the leaf blower that both the batteries are dead. So while it recharges, I'm gonna figure out how to make the Christmas Plant work while the 15 pound fuzzy tornado plots how to chop it down.

@sampson_dog I have a colleague who is a lab technician (and a very good one!) who has a service dog. I'll fight anyone who says she doesn't belong in the lab.

Mom met a science professor from a major university this weekend. When he asked what Mom did, and she explained about Empower Ability Consulting, and our advocacy work on service dog access to laboratories, his face told Mom everything she needed to know, his tone conveyed his disbelief and his words proved her intuition correct. "Dogs? In a laboratory? If you can't work without a dog how can you work in a lab? I just can't see it - a dog in a lab," with a shake of his head and a look of condemnation on his face.  This made Mom both angry and sad.  People with disabilities work very successfully in not only laboratories, but also in most all walks of life and careers. It is not their disability that prevents their success but the barriers placed on them by others. The #1 being Attitudinal Barriers.  Barriers: Nondisabled scientists don’t consider accessibility in the lab until a disabled individual speaks up.  The process of educating and advocating takes years. RE: Our battle with the #CDC over one sentence in their biosafety manual.  Inaccessible labs deter disabled individuals from participating in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Physical barriers limit the movement of individuals who use a wheelchair or other mobility supports. Attitudinal barriers result from others’ opinions that limit people with disabilities. Mom works so hard, but reaching everyone seems like a monumental task at times. You can all be advocates and help us spread the word. Reading and recommending our book #INSISTENT is a start. Reposting our posts is a huge help. Talking to colleagues and community members spreads the word. You can help us help others.

@StrandedAssoci1 To really get the full torture experience, he needs to mumble too. And maybe stumble over a few words here and there. Either very very very slow, or so fast no one could follow. And throw in a bunch of "ums" and "uhs" and other verbal filler.

Sitting through a keynote address, where the speaker is literally reading his paper from the podium, without slides, and barely looks up to acknowledge his audience. This is torture.

@sampson_dog @citiprogram Do you know when the course will be deployed?

Mom finished a HUGE 18-month contracted course development for the @citiprogram Saturday that addresses: Understanding Disability, Service Dog’s 101, Service Dogs in Research and Laboratories, with First Responders, Natural Disaster Planning, Clinical Settings, Public Places, Public Transportation, many more through how to be a Self Advocate. The goal is it will become a mandatory course for all universities, research facilities, clinical settings, and government bodies. Me - I’m retired and living my Best! Life! Ever! Happy Monday!

@sampson_dog I've also submitted it for highlighting by the American Society of Engineering in their magazine - the society had asked for book suggestions in a recent email to the membership. Hopefully it'll appear in an upcoming issue!

@ProfessorDiane Thank you!

INSISTENT: The Powerful Bond that Fueled a Global Fight for Inclusion Author: Joey Ramp-Adams featuring Service Dogs in Science Sampson, Theo, and Pax! A Traumatic Brain Injury. A Fluffy White Service Dog. A Fight That Changed Everything. After a devastating accident left Joey Ramp-Adams with twenty-three broken bones, a traumatic brain injury, and severe neurological impairments, she lost her ability to speak, understand language, and even function in the outside world. Isolated in a world of pain, confusion, and despair, she saw no way forward—until one soft-eyed Golden Retriever named Sampson showed her otherwise. With Sampson by her side, Joey didn’t just rebuild her life—she rewrote the rules. Determined to understand the science behind her injury, she returned to academia to study neuroscience, becoming the first service dog handler to demand full access to scientific laboratories. Faced with systemic bias, discrimination, and doors slammed shut, Joey refused to back down. Instead, she and Sampson became a force for global change. Insistent is a powerful memoir of resilience, advocacy, and the unbreakable bond between a woman and her service dog. Together, they shattered barriers, reshaped policies, and sparked a movement that reached from classrooms to Congress. This is not just a story about survival—it’s a story about transformation, purpose, and the courage to challenge a system stacked against you. Joey fought for her life. Then she fought for others. With Sampson leading the way, she proved that determination—like love—never gives up. IN all major bookstores August 26, 2025. Preorder your copy here: barnesandnoble.com/w/insistent-jo…

@sampson_dog Just finished reading it (for the first time, I'm sure I'll re-read it later). It's really good, and there are so many parts that are so moving - I actually cried a few times. Highly recommended!

@ProfessorDiane Hurray! Thank you!

@sampson_dog My copy just arrived! Perfect timing for the upcoming holiday weekend.

@ProfessorDiane Thank you!!

WE NEED YOUR HELP! When Mom was in college as a disabled person, recovering from a brain injury, and struggling with a broken body, she found it exceedingly difficult to earn scholarships. Many people with disabilities, who need the financial support, struggle in this area. This is just ONE reason we have developed the Sampsons Legacy Foundation (see link below). Disability may prevent students from accessing financial aid for college and graduate school, because of reduced course loads, extended number of semesters before the completion of a degree, difficulty with test taking and scholarship essay writing, an inability to participate in college work-study programs due to the nature of a disability, and discrimination against graduate school assistants with disabilities. Mom has been there and KNOWS how hard this process is. She never wants that for anyone else! Our goal has always been to support people with disabilities in education and into the workforce. You can help us help them! We are not asking for financial support for vacations, cars, houses, luxuries, or even a salary for ourselves or Board members! All proceeds go DIRECTLY to helping those in need, with one scholarship designated specifically for service dog handlers in science! You can make the difference by donating to our mission. The scholarship program for the fall has launched. If you would like to be a part of donating to this effort, please visit our website sampsonslegacyfoundation.com & click on the donate link OR contribute via our GoFundMe site gofund.me/078e3829 to add to our non-profit! Thank you!

Happy to share that I've been promoted from Associate Professor to Professor (aka "full Professor")!

The @KetteringU Commencement is done! Another great group of students walked across the stage at Atwood and we're now all clearing out.

Our @KetteringU @BulldogBolt team is out on the track for the first of our 2 scored runs.