SPEAKER 1: Center For Neurotechnology.
Creating access for all.
SHERYL BURGSTAHLER: Access ERC is
a project funded by the National Science Foundation.
It's actually a supplemental grant to the Engineering
Research Center at the University of Washington,
also funded by the National Science Foundation,
and there are about 15 of these centers across the country.
And we were funded to help the other centers recruit,
and employ, and engage individuals with disabilities
in everything they do.
SHAILA KOTADIA: When we are organizing events,
we try to make them accessible to all.
We ask people for their accessibility needs.
And I work really, really hard to make
sure everybody feels comfortable with whatever they do need.
ROXANNE ZELLIN: The website is the first entrance
into our program into what we do.
And if that population cannot access it, what good is it?
CHET MORITZ: So another aspect of this space
that we really enjoy is the flexibility in the furniture.
We can set it up in many different configurations
to engage users.
But we can also clear it out of the way
if we have an event where many people with assistive devices
are present.
And so really an element of universal design.
ROY CHARLES: I've worked in diversity for quite some time
and sometimes the conversation about diversity
can focus very much on one or two
particular groups in part, racial minorities, and women,
and not as much be discussed about persons
with disabilities.
RAJESH RAO: The ERC are designed to have huge impact in society
by solving some of the major challenges
in engineering that society is currently facing.
And in order to have that kind of impact
and to solve these important problems,
we need to include every section of society, including
people with disabilities in all aspects of ERCs.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER 1: To learn more about how
you can incorporate accessibility
and universal design in engineering research centers,
visit the access ERC website hosted
by the University of Washington.
Washington.edu/d oit/programs/accesserc.
AccessERC is a supplement of the Center for Neurotechnology
National Science Foundation Grant Number EEC-1028725.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations
expressed in this video are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National
Science Foundation.
Copyright 2022.
University of Washington.
Permission is granted to copy these materials
for educational, non-commercial purposes
provided the source is acknowledged.