[Massachusetts-NFB] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] Fwd: [NABS-L] The Science and Engineering Division and National Association of Blind Students Joint STEM Seminar
sharawinton at gmail.com
sharawinton at gmail.com
Fri Feb 6 22:47:12 UTC 2026
-----Original Message-----
From: NFBNet-Members-List <nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf
Of David Andrews via NFBNet-Members-List
Sent: Friday, February 6, 2026 8:46 AM
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] Fwd: [NABS-L] The Science and Engineering
Division and National Association of Blind Students Joint STEM Seminar
>
>The Science and Engineering Division and National Association of Blind
>Students Joint STEM Seminar
>
>Two divisions of the National Federation of the Blind, namely: The
>Science and Engineering Division (SED) and the National Association of
>Blind Students (NABS), are presenting a joint Zoom conference on how
>blind college and graduate students, and blind professionals, are
>succeeding in courses and careers in science, technology, engineering,
>and mathematics. The Zoom conference link will be the standard NABS
>Zoom link shown at the bottom of this message. The call will occur at
>7:30 PM EST through 9 PM EST on Sunday, February 22, 2026. We will have
>three speakers. Each talk will be twenty minutes long with an extra
>five minutes for questions.
>
>Topics will be of interest for blind students from middle school
>through graduate school and for professionals. Parents of blind
>school-aged children and educators are also welcome.
>
>Currently, the scheduled titles, speakers, abstracts, and speaker
>introductions, are:
>
>Opening Remarks
>Lauren Altman, president, National Association of Blind Students
>(nabs.president at gmail.com<mailto:nabs.president at gmail.com>), and John
>Miller, president, Science and Engineering Division
>(Johnmillerphd at hotmail.com<mailto:Johnmillerphd at hotmail.com>) (7:30 PM)
>
>Title: Engineering the Future: Storing Clean Energy Deep Beneath Our
>Feet (7:40 PM)
>
>Speaker: Matthew Ard
>(mattard at stanford.edu<mailto: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.
>
>Questions: (8:00 PM)
>
>Title: Birding by Ear and Beyond; Exploring, experiencing, and engaging
>in the wonder of the Natural world as a person who is blind (8:05 PM)
>
>Speaker: Donna Posont (dposont at umich.edu<mailto: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<mailto: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, Any body, 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.
>
>Questions: (8:25 PM)
>
>Title: Audiom: Evaluating if digital interactive alternate text
>provides the same information as visual spatial maps and diagrams (8:30
>PM)
>
>Speaker: Brandon Biggs
>(brandon.biggs at xrnavigation.io<mailto: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 different 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 requiring 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.
>
>Questions: (8:50 PM)
>
>Closing Remarks
>Lauren Altman and John Miller (8:55 PM)
>
>Adjourn: (9:05 PM)
>
>Division Contact Information
>
>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:
>"http://www.nfb.org/divisiondues".
>
>Dues for NABS and SED are $5 per division per 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
>"https://www.nfbnet.org/".
>
>If you have any questions about the mechanics of the seminar, please
>contact Louis Maher (713-444-7838,
>ljmaher03 at outlook.com<mailto:ljmaher03 at outlook.com>).
>-----
>Join Zoom Meeting:
>February 22, 2026, 7:30 PM EST
>
>Zoom Meeting Room
><https://zoom.us/j/4678833687?_x_zm_rtaid=KOKAICd1R4ihtmx1LS5OTg.176902
>1469326.3ccbb5b08dc1b4996eb5278c87f34feb&_x_zm_rhtaid=216%23success>
>
>Meeting ID: 467 883 3687
>
>One tap mobile
>+13017158592,4678833687 US (Germantown)
>
>13126266799,,4678833687# US (Chicago)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Regards
>Louis Maher
>Phone: 713-444-7838
>Email: ljmaher03 at outlook.com<mailto:ljmaher03 at outlook.com>
>
>
>Content-Type:
>application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document;
> name="Announcement For A Zoom Conference On How The Blind Can
>Do STEM"
> 2026-02-22 (1).docx"
>Content-Description: Announcement For A Zoom Conference On How The
>Blind Can
> Do STEM 2026-02-22 (1).docx
>Content-Disposition: attachment;
> filename="Announcement For A Zoom Conference On How The Blind
>Can Do STEM"
> 2026-02-22 (1).docx"; size=30778;
> creation-date="Mon, 02 Feb 2026 11:33:23 GMT";
> modification-date="Mon, 02 Feb 2026 11:42:41 GMT"
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Announcement For A Zoom Conference On How The Blind Can Do STEM2.dat
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 30778 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/massachusetts-nfb_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260206/132ed6a0/attachment.a>
-------------- next part --------------
_______________________________________________
NFBNet-Members-List mailing list
NFBNet-Members-List at nfbnet.org
List archives: <http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbnet-members-list_nfbnet.org>
To unsubscribe from NFBNet-Members-List:
goto http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbnet-members-list_nfbnet.org/sharawinton%40gmail.com
More information about the Massachusetts-NFB
mailing list