Assistive technology research as a mechanism to broaden the participation of women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities

Abstract

This paper examines the field of assistive technology and its potential as a “catalyst for change” for diversity in science and engineering. We will discuss programs in the Quality of Life Technology Center (QoLT) at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, and in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras that are using assistive technology to attract underrepresented students to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. We will also discuss how collaboration with such programs can help introduce research in assistive technology at other schools by highlighting the collaboration between the University of Maryland Baltimore County and the QoLT. Underrepresented students in STEM include women, Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans, Hawaiian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and students with disabilities. Involving students from these populations in assistive technology research can contribute to the students’ sustained interest in STEM fields, and can lead to the development of a new generation of innovators who will contribute assisted and independent living solutions to problems that can enable people with disabilities to engage in society more completely, and for longer periods of time.