AccessComputing Welcomes New Partners

We are excited to announce that three new institutional partners have joined AccessComputing: Macalester College, represented by Assistant Professor Lauren Milne; New York University, represented by Associate Professor Amy Hurts; and Wichita State University, represented by Associate Professor Vinod Namboodri. This is Lauren's first year at Macalester after graduating from the University of Washington (UW) in August 2018. Lauren is active in accessibility research while holding down a significant teaching load. Amy Hurst is a new professor at New York University with a joint appointment in the Occupational Therapy Department and the Technology, Culture and Society Department. She joined NYU after spending 8 years at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Vinod is an expert on mobile computing and wireless networks with a strong interest in accessibility. He runs the ACCESS Lab at Wichita State, which explores information technologies to benefit people with disabilities and older adults.

We also have a new industry partner, Abilitrek. Abilitrek is a multifaceted company with the mission of improving accessibility and empowering people with disabilities. AbiliTrek CEO Daman Wandke was an AccessComputing team member and has since hosted AccessComputing team members as interns.

We also have two new representatives. Assistant Professor Stacy Branham joins Gillian Hayes in representing the University of California, Irvine. Stacy is a graduate of Virginia Tech and formally a lecturer at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is an active researcher in intersection of human-centered computing and accessible computing. Professor Jinjuan Heidi Feng will also join us, representing Towson University as Jonathan will soon be moving to the University of Maryland, College Park. Heidi is an active researcher in human-computer interaction, universal accessibility, health informatics, and accessible security.

Welcome to all our new representatives and thanks for your commitment to the goals of AccessComputing.