[NFB-Science] Introduction from Your New Vice President

Tue Aug 18 03:10:32 UTC 2026

Haylee and All,

My name is Nathanael Wales, and I now serve as the treasurer of our Science and Engineering Division of the NFB. I have been a member since my freshman year of college in 1996 (so am not fully a founding member of the division). I studied civil engineering at the University of California at Davis. Because of an internship I landed with the state Department of Water Resources, I ended up specializing in planning water resources projects. In California I worked on plans to expand three reservoirs. I earned my Professional Engineer license in 2004. For the past nearly 20 years I have worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planning and managing flood risk management (such as levees, seawalls, bypass channels), navigation improvement (such as deepening shipping channels), and ecosystem restoration (such as creating and recreating wetlands as well as removing obsolete dams) projects in New York, New Jersey, and now Oregon.

As to the very real struggle of finding that first job and gaining experience, give thought to any internship experience you had in college. This could even have been a research project or a team project (for example, I was a part of the team at UC Davis that built a competed a concrete canoe during my 4 undergraduate years). What problems or accessibility challenges did you have to solve as a blind person? Know that the problem solving experiences you have had doing research, using poorly coded websites, and planning how to get to your classes, jobs, and places in the community can be great examples of an engineering, problem-solving mindset.

In my career, especially when interviewing with employers who do not know me, it often depends on whether I disclose my blindness at the interview or after getting an offer. If I do disclose in an interview, I always try to find a way to disclose in such a way that I can also describe how I solved an accessibility problem and how that may have added value to the project and my teammates. A few years ago, my teammates and I were reviewing a cost estimate for a project to build an artificial beach on Long Island to provide erosion protection. The numbers in front of us weren't making sense. My sighted teammates were looking at PDF images of an Excel workbook; because I couldn't readily use those images, I asked the estimator for the source Excel files. I saw the same inconsistencies, and then I started looking a little deeper at why...and realized that one of the formulas was wrong. When I fixed it, the results were much more like we all knew they should be. My need for an accessible format allowed me to determine where the problem was. Perhaps you have a similar story you can share.

I hope this is helpful.

And, hey, I'll point you to possible opportunities with my employer, the U.S. Army. Consider if you qualify for the Army Fellows program, which hires recent graduates and places them into developmental opportunities throughout Army components. Though it's much more civil engineering, my offices in the Corps of Engineers regularly bring in Army Fellows to help us build the next generation of professionals.

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have questions. And welcome!

Nathanael

-----Original Message-----
From: NFB-Science [mailto:nfb-science-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Haylee Mota via NFB-Science
Sent: Monday, August 17, 2026 8:13 PM
To: NFB Science and Engineering Division List
Cc: Haylee Mota
Subject: Re: [NFB-Science] Introduction from Your New Vice President

Hello,
My name is Haylee. I graduated with my bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2025. My bachelor's had an emphasis on fluid and thermodynamics so I'd be happy to assist others in those areas.
I also took classes in aerodynamic theory, turbine design, jet and rocket engines, highspeed compressible flows, and all of the prerequisite math and physics required for an engineering degree. I had to take a CAD class as part of the ABET requirements for a mechanical engineering degree and would be happy to talk to others about how I did that in a sort of accessible manner. I used MATLAB quite extensively throughout school, and am very familiar with how to navigate the interface, import lab data, create visually acceptable graphs, etc. I also took a year-long course on instrumentation and measurement which involved building circuits, using an oscilloscope and various other instruments, analyzing data, and so many other things.

Since leaving school, it has been a struggle to find a job as an engineer.
I hope this list can provide some more strategies on finding work for blind STEM students fresh out of college and a discussion around disclosure. I personally have struggled with weather or not to disclose my blindness to the employer before I have the offer letter. I've gone the route of disclosing after I have my offer letter, but this has recently backfired.

Best,
Haylee

On Mon, Aug 17, 2026 at 2:20 PM avery ingram via NFB-Science < nfb-science at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> 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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