With the increasing power and flexibility of technologies available to consumers, we are seeing a revolution in how assistive technology (AT) is being created and by whom. This talk will highlight the potential of these technologies for people with disabilities, as well as the challenges that end users face in leveraging them effectively to address AT issues.
Jennifer Mankoff is the Ladner Professor in the Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington. Jennifer applies a human-centered perspective to combining empirical methods and technical innovation to solve pressing social problems in areas such as accessibility, health and sustainability. Her focus is on improving tools and exploring value at the intersection of Fabrication and Accessibility. Jennifer received her PhD at Georgia Tech, advised by Gregory Abowd and Scott Hudson, and her B.A. from Oberlin College. Her previous faculty positions include UC Berkeley’s EECS department and Carnegie Mellon’s HCI Institute. Jennifer has been recognized with an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, IBM Faculty Fellowship and Best Paper awards from ASSETS, CHI and Mobile HCI. Some supporters of her research include Autodesk, Google Inc., the Intel Corporation, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft Corporation and the National Science Foundation.