[NFB-Science] Introduction from Your New Vice President

[avery ingram]

Hello,

Frederick, I'm very grateful on the behalf of the community that you would offer these opportunities. If I lived in Illinois instead of Oregon, I would love to gain experience in your lab.

John, thank you very much for your support and words of encouragement. I'm sorry to hear how absurdly difficult it was for them to approve a device as necessary as the Braille display. I'd also like to elaborate about topics I could potentially help people with. Here are some courses I've taken:
Differential equations
Cellular biology
Molecular biology lab and lecture
Genetics
Calculus-based physics sequence
Biophysics sequence
General biology sequence with lab and dissections
Biochemistry sequence
General chemistry lab and lecture sequence
Organic chemistry lab and lecture sequence
Physical chemistry sequence
Probably other classes I'm not remembering at the moment, which I know isn't helpful, so I apologize. I took these a few years ago, and believe I remember them well enough to provide at least some help. I'm hoping to improve my skills in R and Python, which are currently at a basic level, so that may be something I could help with in the future.

Best,

Avery

On Aug 17, 2026, at 12:45 PM, Frederick R. Prete, Ph.D. via NFB-Science <nfb-science at nfbnet.org> wrote:

 Dear Mr. Staley,

Congratulations on your election as Vice President of the NFB Science Division. I wish you every success in your new role.

By way of introduction, I am a Lecturer in Biology at Lake Forest College and am currently retiring from a full-time faculty position at Northeastern Illinois University. I am also the Founding Director of the Haptics Research Lab, which has been hosted at Lake Forest College for the past five years.

Our laboratory conducts research on haptic-enhanced mobility aids for blind and low-vision individuals, including a haptic-enhanced white cane, on which I am now totally reliant, that we are currently developing and distributing as a charitable venture within the Chicagoland community through organizations including Second Sense and Friedman Place, among others.

I am blind myself, so this work has both professional and personal significance for me.

I should also mention that, on several occasions, I have offered to participate in the planning of NFB STEM programming and to make research opportunities in my laboratory available to blind and low-vision students. Thus far, those offers have not led to any involvement, but they remain open, and I would be very pleased to explore such opportunities with you in the future.

I hope I will have an opportunity to meet you and talk with you in the near future, and I look forward to seeing the Science Division continue to grow under your leadership.

Best regards,
Frederick Prete, PhD


--
Frederick R. Prete, PhD
Pres., Haptic Insight LLC (www.hapticinsight.org)
Lecturer, Dept. Biology, Lake Forest College
Senior Instructor, Dept Biology, Northeastern Illinois University
5500 North St. Louis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625
cell: 847.209.3515 (primary)
NEIU office: 773.442.5724

www.neiu.edu

    On Sunday, August 16, 2026 at 02:27:59 AM CDT, Harry Staley via NFB-Science <nfb-science at nfbnet.org> wrote:  

Hello everyone,

My name is [Your Name], and I am honored to introduce myself as the newly elected Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind Science Division.

For those of you who may not attend the NFB national convention each year, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and let you know how excited I am to be serving in this role. I look forward to getting to know many of you and to working with the division's leadership and membership to strengthen our community.

One of my goals as Vice President is to help make NFB-Science an active and welcoming community for blind students, scientists, engineers, technology professionals, researchers, educators, and others interested in STEM. I believe there is tremendous value in creating opportunities for us to share our experiences, exchange information and resources, mentor one another, and encourage blind people who are considering careers in STEM.

I am also excited about helping revitalize this listserv and making it a place where members can learn about career and educational opportunities, accessible technology, conferences, scholarships, research, and other topics of interest to the blind STEM community.

I would love to hear from you as we move forward. If you are a student, professional, educator, researcher, or simply someone with an interest in STEM, please feel free to introduce yourself to the list and tell us a little about your interests and what you would like to see from the Science Division.

I am looking forward to working with all of you and helping build an even stronger NFB Science Division.

Best regards,

Harry Staley
330-718-1876
staleyh at gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrystaley



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