AccessComputing

The Computing Research Association's Distributed Research Experience for Undergraduates (DREU) is a program that supports summer research experiences for undergraduate students from groups that are underrepresented in the computing field, which includes students with disabilities. AccessComputing has been partnering with this program for years to pair up team members with a variety of computing labs and faculty mentors.

This year, I had the opportunity to participate in the Computing Research Association’s Distributed Research Experience for Undergraduates (DREU) through AccessComputing. I have been involved in AccessComputing since my sophomore year, attending the CS@UW+AccessComputing research workshop in the spring of 2019. Prior to my participation in this workshop, I never thought of research as a viable path for me. 

In March of 2018, I attended the Computing Research Association (CRA) Graduate Cohort Workshop for Underrepresented Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in San Diego, California. AccessComputing was one of the workshop’s sponsors.

I am blind, a father of three daughters, a non-traditional student, and a senior at University of Maryland (UMD), College Park majoring in information science at the UMD iSchool hoping to specialize in human-computer interaction in graduate studies. I value education not only in the practical sense but also for how it shapes me as a person and allows me to contribute to our society.

<p>&nbsp;</p><p><img style="float: right;" src="https://www.washington.edu/accesscomputing/sites/default/files/u1072/Ebr... alt="" width="400" height="300" /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I am blind, a father of three daughters, a non-traditional student, and a senior at University of Maryland (UMD), College Park majoring in information science at the UMD iSchool hoping to specialize in human-

Maya Cakmak is the PI for AccessComputing. She is an associate professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington with a specialization in human-robot interaction. Since arriving at UW in 2013, she has been active with the DO-IT Center through multiple projects, including being a co-PI of the NSF-funded project AccessEngineering and leading several one-week summer workshops in the DO-IT Scholars summer program.