Awards and Recognition

The Tech for All team has received numerous awards and recognition for their contributions to technologies for people with disabilities, including:

  • James R. Olsen’s Distinguished Service Award, American Council of the Blind (July 11, 2019)
  • Access Award, American Foundation for the Blind
  • Technology of the Year Award, Industry Week Magazine
  • Computerworld Smithsonian Medal, Smithsonian Institute (1998)
  • Nominated for Stevie Wonder/SAP Product Vision Award, in top 10 finalists from 200 products from 27 Countries

Memberships

TFA has membership in the following organizations

  • International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) – Accessibility professionals from around the world come together to define, promote and improve the accessibility profession through certification, education and networking. Join today and become part of the Global Accessibility Community
  • EDUCAUSE a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education through the use of information technology. We equip our community with the knowledge, resources, and community-building opportunities needed to help shape strategic IT decisions at every level in higher education.
  • ATHEN, (Access Technology in Higher Education) is a professional association and network to collect and disseminate best practices in access technology in the higher education environment as well as present a collective voice for the professional practice of access technology in higher education.
  • Kiosk Manufacturer Association (KMA) is a global organization focused on best-in-class self-service technology for all customers and employees. Currently TFA is Chair of the ADA Committee of KMA

Publications and Presentations

The Tech for All team has authored or co-authored numerous papers on accessibility, assistive technology, and universal design. Our work has been published in industry journals and presented at assistive technology conference proceedings.

Jointly with VitalSource Technologies,Inc.

  • Johnson, R., Brown, N., Salmon, A., Lukatsky, A, Bowes, R., Eghtesadi, C., “Addressing EPUB3 Accessibility from Creation to Deployment”, 31st Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, San Diego, California, March 2016.
  • Johnson, R., Brown, N., Salmon, A., Lukatsky, A, Bowes, R., Eghtesadi, C.,” Integrating Accessibility into eReader Mobile Platforms”, 30th Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, San Diego, California, March 2015.
  • Johnson, R., Brown, Salmon, A., Lukatsky, A, Bowes, R., Eghtesadi, C., “Accessible Texts on Multiple Platforms using EPUB3”, 29th Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, San Diego, California, March 2014.
  • Johnson, R., Bowes, R., Salmon, A., Eghtesadi, C.,”Accessible Reading Experiences using ePUB3″, 28th Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, San Diego, California, March 2013.
  • Johnson, R., Bowes, R., Salmon, A., Eghtesadi, C.,”Making eBook Accessible on Multiple Platforms”, 27th Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, San Diego, California, March 2012.

Jointly with The WGBH National Center for Accessible Media

  • Eghtesadi, C.; Goldberg, L., Botkin, B., O’Connell, T., “Accessible In-Flight Entertainment Systems for Blind and Deaf Passengers””, Ergonomics in Design, vol. 20, no. 3, 2012: 7-13.
  • Eghtesadi, C., and O’Connell, T., “Accessible In-Flight Communications and Entertainment System Prototype”, 23rd Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, Los Angeles, California, March, 2008.

Jointly with The WGBH National Center for Accessible Media

  • Blubaugh, M., Uslan, M., and Eghtesadi, C., “Improving Small Visual Displays for Low Vision Users”, 4th International Conference on Applied Human Factor and Ergonomics (AHFE), session 158, pp: 7096-7105, San Francisco, California, July 2012.
  • Uslan, M., Blubaugh, M., and Eghtesadi, C., “Improving Small Visual Displays for Low Vision Users”, 27th Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, San Diego, California, March 2012.
  • Kelley, K., Eghtesadi, C., Blubaugh, M., Reuschel, W., “Character-Contrast Measurements on Reflective Displays Using Replica Masks”, Journal of Society for Information Display (JSID), vol 19, issue 10, pp: 685-692, October 2011.
  • Huffman, L. A., Uslan, M. M., Burton, D. M., and Eghtesadi, C, “A study of multifunctional document centers that are accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired”, Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, vol. 103, no. 4, 2009: 223-229.
  • Grossman, M, Hodges, B, Eghtesadi, C, and Bowes, R “Accessibility and Usability Evaluation Methodology in Design and Development of Electronic and Information Technology – Applications and Use Cases”, 22nd, Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, Los Angeles, California, March 2007.
  • Uslan, M.; Eghtesadi, K.; Burton, D., Blood Glucose Meter Accessibility for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons. Ergonomics in Design, vol. 12, no. 3, 2004: 19-25.
  • Uslan, M; Eghtesadi, K; Burton, D. Accessibility of Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons. Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics, vol. 5, no. 3, 2002: 439-448.

Jointly with the American Foundation for the Blind and California State University

  • Hanley, G, Bowes, R, Eghtesadi, C, “Creating a Culture of Access – Case Study – California State University”. ATIA Leadership Forum on Accessibility, Orlando, Florida, January 2009.
  • Ward, G, Bowes, R, Eghtesadi, C, Hodges, B, “Accessibility of Digital Marketplace Enterprise System for People with Disabilities for Higher Education”, 24th Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, Los Angeles, CA, March 2009.
  • Ward, G, Bowes, R, Eghtesadi, C, Hodges, B, “Accessibility of the California State University Digital Marketplace Enterprise System for People with Disabilities”, 23thAnnual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, Los Angeles, CA, March 2008.
  • Jointly with Adobe Systems, Inc. and AFB:
  • Hodges, B, Eghtesadi, C, Kirkpatrick, A, DeVastor, P, “Understanding End User Role in PDF Accessibility”, 25th, Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, San Diego, California, March 2010.
  • Hodges, B, Huffman, L, Eghtesadi, C, Kirkpatrick, A, DeVastor, P. “Development Of User Guides For Blind And Visually Impaired Users Of PDF Documents”, 24th, Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, Los Angeles, California, March 2009.
  • Kirkpatrick, A, DeVastor, P, Hodges, B, Huffman, L, Eghtesadi, C, “Accessing PDF: A User Guide for Blind and Visually Impaired”, 23rd, Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, Los Angeles, California, March 2008.
  • Kirkpatrick, A, Gulker, C, Hodges, B, Huffman, L, Eghtesadi, C, “Accessibility and Usability of Adobe Acrobat 8.0 and Reader 8.0 Software for People with Disabilities”, 22nd, Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, Los Angeles, California, March 2007.
  • Pisocky, G., Eghtesadi, C., Hodges, B, Salmon, A., “Development of Next Generation Accessible Electronic Documentation”, 21st, Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, Los Angeles, California, March 2006.
  • Pisocky, G., Eghtesadi, C., Hodges, B, Salmon, A., “Accessibility of Adobe® Acrobat Software Products for People with Disabilities: The End User’s Experience”, 21st, Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, Los Angeles, California, March 2006.
  • Stanier, J, and Eghtesadi, Kh, “Universal Design of Electronic Documentation Technology”, International Conference on Universal Design, Rio DeJaneiro, Brazil, December 2004.
  • Guarino Reid, L, Cotton, T, Eghtesadi, K, Denham, J, “Accessibility of Adobe™ Acrobat™ Software for People with Disabilities”, 19th, Annual International Conference, “Technology and Persons with Disabilities”, Los Angeles, California, March 2004.

Grants

Tech for All provides technical and management leadership for advanced research and development projects. Our work includes major contributions to the following grants awarded by the United States National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).

Making Small Visual Displays Accessible to People with Vision Loss

Making Small Visual Displays Accessible to People with Vision Loss

Established, in collaboration with AFB TECH of the American Foundation for the Blind, a state of the art Optics Lab with unique capabilities to conduct full-scale optical measurements with the highest accuracy and flexibility for small visual displays. This research project ultimately helps industry to intelligently design and develop technology products usable to people with vision loss.

In-Flight Entertainment

In-Flight Entertainment

A three-year collaboration with WGBH’s National Center for Accessible Media to make airline entertainment, communications, and information accessible to fliers with sensory disabilities. This project developed solutions that make in-flight communication and entertainment systems accessible to people with sensory disabilities. Solutions and resulting recommendations include the integration of captioning for video and audio, descriptive narration for visual images, and audio navigation for system menus and interface design.

Universal eLearner

Universal eLearner

In collaboration with the American Foundation for the Blind in partnership with Bridge Multimedia and Pearson Digital Learning, Tech for All developed and tested a conceptual model of a Universal eLearner Platform (UeL). The UeL system, an online learning application for presenting educational material to K-12 students, is designed to be fully accessible to students with visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments, and students who are learning English as a second language. The web-based system presents separate user interfaces and workflows for students, teachers, and parents.

Windows to the World

Windows to the World

Information Technology for Independence: A Community-based Research Windows to the World: A Gateway to the Internet for Visually Impaired Users. In collaboration with the American Foundation for the Blind, in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tech for All helped design a software system to make Web pages more accessible to visually impaired users. The Electronic Curb Cut project was created by the Health Information Management group in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. This project has developed a series of software tools, the most recent of which is the Access 2.1 Transcoder, a Web proxy server that transforms Web pages into a format that is more accessible for visually impaired users. The research study was a qualitative study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Access 2.1 Transcoder in improving the web browsing experience for blind users.

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