[BlindMath] Attachment Missing - SED-NABS STEM Seminar Minutes For February 22, 2026 (Louis Maher)

[Louis Maher]

Hello Poonam,

I have re-attached the minutes.

In case the e-mail system clipped the attachment, I will paste the document below my signature.


Regards
Louis Maher
Phone: 713-444-7838
Email: ljmaher03 at outlook.com
-----
The Science and Engineering Division and National Association of Blind Students Joint STEM Zoom Conference Minutes for February 22, 2026

The National Federation of the Blind's Science and Engineering Division (SED) and the National Federation of the Blind's National Association of Blind Students (NABS) held a joint Zoom conference on Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) on Sunday, February 22, 2026, by Zoom.

A Recording of this meeting is available at
"2026-02-22 SED seminar_Recording.mp3". Once this link is accessed, once your virtual cursor is off, hitting enter on this file produces a "play" dialog, and tabbing around the "play" dialog will bring you to a download button.

To see past Science and Engineering documents, minutes, and recordings, go to
"https://tinyurl.com/NFB-Science-Engineering". Once you are in a directory with your virtual cursor off, once your focus is on a file, the applications key will give you the context menu with several options including download.

The meeting was called to order by Lauren Altman, president of NABS, at 7:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Introduction

NABS President, Lauren Altman (nabs.president at gmail.com), welcomed the audience and speakers to the annual joint conference presented by NABS and SED.

She discussed the NFB STEM2U program: named the states where it will occur this year, and invited people interested in the program to go to
"https://nfb.org/programs-services/education/nfb-stem2u".

John Miller (johnmillerphd at hotmail.com), president of SED, who will be the moderator for the evening, briefly discussed the presenters, and invited the audience to follow their own passions in their lives.

The titles, speakers, abstracts, and speaker introductions, follow.

Title: Engineering the Future: Storing Clean Energy Deep Beneath Our Feet

Speaker: Matthew Ard (mattard at stanford.edu)

Abstract: The transition to clean energy is one of the greatest challenges of our time, but what opportunities actually exist to solve this crucial problem? In this talk, I will introduce the field of Energy Science and Engineering and discuss how I am working to tackle climate change through my research on large-scale energy storage. I will share my journey from undergraduate studies to a PhD program and discuss the methods and technologies I use to conduct high-level research as a student with a visual impairment. By sharing my research and personal experience, I hope to demystify the research process and show that a career in research is a tangible reality for students from all backgrounds.

Speaker Introduction: Matthew is a second-year PhD student at Stanford University in the Energy Science and Engineering program and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. His research is focused on enabling a clean energy future through underground energy storage. He graduated from San Jose State University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. As an undergraduate, he conducted research at Stanford University and Columbia University, where he focused on solving problems related to climate change. Beyond the lab, Matthew is dedicated to improving accessibility and advocating for inclusion in his communities. He works with the Office of Access, Belonging, and Community and mentors undergraduate and graduate students to help them navigate their own paths in higher education.

Title: Birding by Ear and Beyond; Exploring, experiencing, and engaging in the wonder of the Natural world as a person who is blind

Speaker: Donna Posont (dposont at umich.edu)

Abstract: Wonder of the natural world is for everyone and that includes those who are blind or low vision. Sometimes we learn in various ways by engaging all our other senses to experience natural science. This program at the University of Michigan-Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center meets at least monthly to learn about nature and is taught as though all participants are blind, but, friends and family are welcome.

Speaker Introduction:
Donna Posont
Coordinator: Birding by Ear and Beyond
Environmental Interpretive Center
University of Michigan-Dearborn
dposont at umich.edu

I have a bachelor's degree in social work from West Liberty University in West Virginia. I returned as a non-traditional student and received a degree in Environmental Studies with a naturalist focus and a minor in Biology graduating in 2015 from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. During my time as a student I started a monthly program for blind people to learn to identify birds by sound. Upon graduation I became a staff naturalist and the program grew to Birding by Ear and Beyond. The Beyond part provides for experiencing all aspects of the natural world such as frogs, tree, and plant identification, learning about the watershed, building, and maintaining a Butterfly Garden. I received training as a Certified Interpretive Guide from the National Association of Interpretation, and this is helpful in sharing about nature. The program has been featured in national magazines such as Audubon and Birds and Blooms as well as appearing on CBS and NBC nightly news and various podcasts such as Ray Brown’s Talkin Birds, Any Bird, Anybody, and Eyes Free Sports. In 2016 I receive the Outstanding Part time Interpreter the Year award from the National Association of Interpretation Region IV. In 2024 I was a Merit Award recipient from Michigan Association of Environmental Outdoor Educators. My proudest moment came when I received the Jacob Bolotin Award from the National Federation of the Blind in 2024 for an outstanding program which has enhanced the lives of people who happen to be blind.

Title: Audiom: Evaluating if digital interactive alternate text provides the same information as visual spatial maps and diagrams

Speaker: Brandon Biggs (brandon.biggs at xrnavigation.io)

Abstract: Sighted people view over 300 digital maps a year, in contrast to blind people, who view less than one map a year on average. Only around 17.5% of blind
people have ever viewed a map of any kind as a blind person. This talk will present Audiom, an interactive alternate text game-like digital interface that
can allow the non-visual viewing and creation of diverse types of spatial information, such as maps and diagrams. Over 13 academic studies and co-designs
have been performed on over 150 blind and 40 sighted participants to create and evaluate Audiom. The presentation will then discuss how Audiom is being
compared with visual digital maps and diagrams. The objective of this work is to clearly define what it means for a non-visual text map to serve the equivalent
purpose to a visual map to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The results of this work should inform digital accessibility legislation to facilitate
equal educational and employment opportunities for professions require the use of spatial information.

Links to Audiom:
Personal use:
https://audiom.net/
Commercial use:
https://xrnavigation.io/

Speaker Introduction: Brandon Biggs is an entrepreneur, researcher, inclusive designer, developer, and life-long learner. He is the CEO of XR Navigation, an Engineer at the
Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, Co-Founder and board treasurer at Sonja Biggs Educational Services Inc., and a PhD student at the Georgia institute
of Technology. In 2016, he received his bachelor's in music from California State University East Bay, in 2019 he received his master's in Inclusive Design
from the Ontario College of Art and Design University, and in 2021, began his PhD in Human Centered Computing from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
He is almost completely blind from Leber's Congenital Amaurosis (LCA). His projects and ventures center around building tools to solve some of the most
difficult problems in the blindness field. He leverages his lived experience coupled with human centered inclusive design principles to create solutions
that create lasting and sustainable impact. To achieve this goal, Brandon is half entrepreneur and half academic.

Wrap Up

If you wish to learn more about NABS, including how to become a member, go to:
"https://www.nabslink.org/".

If you wish to join the SED, go to:
"Division Dues Form".

Dues for NABS and SED are $5 a year.

NFB divisions' fiscal years start on January 1 and end on December 31 of the same year.

Individuals may join the NABS and SED e-mail discussion groups at "Email lists".

Finally, we wish to acknowledge Nikhil Dadlani as our NABS Zoom Host.

Adjournment

The meeting ended at 9 PM EST.

About thirty-nine people attended the meeting.

Questions and Corrections

If there are any questions concerning the National Association of Blind Students, please contact Lauren Altman (nabs.president at gmail.com).

If there are any questions concerning the Science and Engineering Division, please contact John Miller (Phone: 858-774-9286, Johnmillerphd at hotmail.com).

If there are any corrections for the minutes, please contact Louis Maher (713-444-7838, ljmaher03 at outlook.com).

Minutes submitted by Louis Maher
-----Original Message-----
From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Poonam Deokar via BlindMath
Sent: Sunday, March 1, 2026 11:09 PM
To: blindmath at nfbnet.org
Cc: Poonam Deokar <poonam at xrcvc.org>
Subject: [BlindMath] Attachment Missing - SED-NABS STEM Seminar Minutes For February 22, 2026 (Louis Maher)

The attachment is missing.

Poonam Deokar
Lead Consultant Inclusive Education, Xavier's Resource Centre for the
Visually Challenged (XRCVC <http://xrcvc.org/>),
Co-ordinator for Students with Disabilities, St. Xavier's College
<https://xaviers.ac/> (Empowered Autonomous Institute),
5, Mahapalika Marg, Mumbai-400 001
# 022-35223298 (extension 107)
Socials: LinkedIn <http://www.linkedin.com/in/poonam-deokar> | Instagram
<https://www.instagram.com/poonam._.deokar/>

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