[1][2][3] He is also assistant vice chancellor for research for STEM and Health Sciences Collaboration,[4] and a National Medal of Technology and Innovation Laureate.

[13] He received the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering with a concentration in bioengineering from University of California at Santa Barbara in 1989.

He has also been elected to Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and Sigma Xi honorary societies.

Additionally, he has been a member of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Medicare Advisory Committee, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Prosthetics and Special Disability Programs Advisory Committee, chair of the National Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research, National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, U.S. Department of Defense Health Board Subcommittee on Amputation and Orthopedics, board of directors of Easter Seals, National Academy of Medicine Committee on Assistive Products and Devices, and National Academy of Sciences Keck Foundation Initiative on Human Health Span Steering Committee.

[44] Cooper discusses more innovations in a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) feature in August 2021.

[46] In 2021, Cooper served on the board for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which authored a report on making air travel more accessible.

[47] At the 1988 Paralympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, Cooper received a bronze medal in the 4x400-meter wheelchair relay.

[52] Cooper served as the chair of the Local Organizing Committee for the National Veterans Wheelchair Games held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1998 and 2011. Cooper has been a competitor in the National Veterans Wheelchair Game since 1983 winning over 200 medals in total in such sports a slalom, track, swimming, table-tennis, and hand-cycle.

[66] In appreciation of his work and accomplishments, the Pittsburgh City Council proclaimed June 17, 2014, as "Dr. Rory A. Cooper Day.

"[67] In 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office added Cooper to the Inventor Collectible Card Series.

[72] At the 2022 AUSA Conference, Civilian Aides to the Secretary to the Army Program, which Cooper is a part of, received The General Creighton W. Abrams Medal.

In 2024, he was inducted into the National Academy of Engineers[74] and was named to the United States Olympian & Paralympian Association (USOPA) Executive Committee.