Renowned Blind Astronomer and NASA Scientist, Dr. Wanda Díaz Merced, Delivers 2024 STEMIE Fest Keynote

Bridge Multimedia was proud to produce STEMIE Fest for the fifth year in a row. Bridge also provided the accessibility, which included American Sign Language interpretation, and English & Spanish captioning.

STEMIE Fest is a thought-provoking virtual conference regarding accessible early childhood STEM learning. It’s run by the OSEP-funded STEMIE Center at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. The STEMIE Center develops and enhances knowledge about the engagement in STEM  learning opportunities for young children with disabilities.

This year’s STEMIE Fest’s keynote was delivered by Dr. Wanda Dìaz Merced, a Puerto Rican astronomer and NASA scientist who lost her vision as a young woman. Dr. Dìaz Merced is internationally renowned for her trailblazing work in using sonification to turn large data sets into audible sound so those who are blind, and others, can perceive cosmic phenomenon in an alternative manner. Dr. Dìaz Merced said,

“We have created haptic devices to facilitate feeling the vibration of different colors or light waves. Listen and feel. This promises to give access to people that are deaf-blind the opportunity to change, at will, performance modalities when exploring this information.”

According to John Cavanagh, Bridge’s Chief Innovation Officer,

“National STEM Day is a perfect occasion to recognize Dr. Díaz Merced’s pioneering work. It’s important to honor the amazing contributions of people with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and math on National STEM Day and throughout the year.”

Bridge Multimedia celebrates the achievements of accessibility visionaries like Dr. Díaz Merced as well as other 2024 STEMIE Fest presenters such as Kathleen Bogart, Doug Clements, Julie Sarama, and Hsiu-Wen Yang. Also, Megan Vinh and Chih-Ing Lim, Co-Directors of STEMIE and our forward-thinking friends at the Office of Special Education Programs.

Keep listening to the skies!

Matt Kaplowitz & the Bridge Team