Visit to University of Washington

I just got back from a short jaunt to the University of Washington in Seattle. Not only is it the school my son Andy attends (beam, beam), but it is also a hotbed of activity around advancing people with disabilities. My long-time friend Professor Mari Ostendorf (who was a grad student with me at Stanford) was running a summer research program for engineering students with disabilities.

My talk there was on "raising the floor," my new theme around delivering access to everyone on the planet with a disability (and everybody else, too). It was well received, and I had lunch with the students and talked about disability rights and technology.

Jim Fruchterman and five students in a lab setting with computers

I also got to visit with different grad students and professors doing assistive technology research, and was quite impressed. There were several projects that I saw immediate applications to practice, and a couple that could directly help Bookshare.org users.

These kinds of visits are really energizing. It's a reminder that we're not alone in this work: that many brilliant minds are highly engaged in these challenges. And together, we can accomplish a lot more than any one person or group!

Comments

Hendy said…
Dear Jim, I appreciate your blog and have added it to our new site, YourOnRamp.com under nonprofit blogs we like. Our site is designed for professional women who are in career transition, either on-ramping or offramping the workplace for a perdiod of time and want to stay current and connected. We have a job board, career resources, nonprofit sector, newsdesk, library, blogs and forum. Please check it out and spread the word: job postings are free, this is a terrific talent pool seeking to be educated and employed in meaningful work. All my best, Hendy
9:03 AM
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