Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers hold "State of the Science" conferences approximately every five years. The purpose of these conferences is to provide a forum for discussion of research on the areas encompassed by each RERC - reviewing where we are, and exploring future directions.
Most Recent State of the Science Conference:
Matching Needs of Users with Disabilities to Emerging Technology Capabilities: Setting an R&D Agenda in Accessible Interface and Information Technologies
- When: February 28 - March 1, 2007
- Where: NIST (Gaithersburg, MD)
- Co-sponsored by: RERC on Universal Interface & Information Technology Access and National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Funded by: National Institute on Disability & Rehabilitation Research
This invitation-only workshop brought together cross-disciplinary experts to discuss the positive and negative impacts of emerging interface, IT, and network technologies on people with disabilities, identifying the key topics and questions for research and development for the next five, ten, and fifteen years. Discussions addressed the potential impact of such things as ubiquitous computing, anytime-anywhere connectivity, direct brain interface, artificial intelligence and natural language, interface sockets and universal remote consoles, and network services. Analysis from this workshop was shared at the 2007 RESNA and HCI International conferences. A report will be available by October 2008.
Reports from Past State of the Science Conferences
The following reports are available online. Print copies are available by contacting the Trace Center at 608-262-6966 or info@trace.wisc.edu.
2005 Accessible Emergency Notification and Communication: State of the Science Conference
On November 2-3, 2005, the Telecommunications Access RERC held this conference at Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C. Information available from the conference includes:
- Report on Research and Policy Recommendations
- Resources on Accessible Emergency Notification, Communication, and Preparedness
- Archived Webcast of the Conference (sponsored by National Organization on Disability)
- Conference Program and Speaker Bios are available on the Conference Homepage
2001 State of the Science: Access to Telecommunication Technologies
This conference was held on October 29-30, 2001, at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. The report from this conference was published in "Emerging and Accessible Telecommunication, Information and Healthcare Technologies," Winters, et al., ed., RESNA Press (2002).2001 State of the Science: Access to Information Technologies
On April 1-2, 2001, the Information Technology Access RERC held this conference at the CHI 2001 conference in Seattle, Washington. The report from this conference was published in "Emerging and Accessible Telecommunication, Information and Healthcare Technologies," Winters, et al., ed., RESNA Press (2002).Funding for this work has been provided by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), U.S. Department of Education, under grants H133E030012, H133040013, H133E980008 and H133E990006.