News Release
29-Aug-2024
New grant to create inclusive learning environment and advance workplace equity
Grant and Award Announcement
JooYoung Seo, assistant professor of information sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been awarded a four-year, $459,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create inclusive learning environments and advance workplace equity for persons with disabilities in STEM fields. The project, "An AudioTactile Data System for Blind or Low Vision Faculty, Staff, Postdocs, and Graduate Students in Chemistry, Math, Computer and Information Sciences," will build on Seo's work in developing open-source tools that can augment visual charts into touchable (braille), readable (text), and audible (sound) representations. This multimodal approach leverages blind and low-vision (BLV) users' daily assistive technologies such as screen readers and refreshable braille displays.
"Given the scarcity of STEM scientists, researchers, and educators in our country, increasing opportunities for BLV individuals to use better data technologies is essential for [...]