SIGACCESS Volunteers

SIGACCESS Volunteers, operating under the leadership of the Chair, Andrew Sears, are all well-known and respected among the accessibility community, and bring a range of valuable experience to the SIG.

Chair

Andrew Sears

Institution:

UMBC, USA

Phone:

+1 410 455 3883

E-mail:

chair_sigaccess@acm.org

Biography:

Andrew Sears a Professor and Dean of the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences at the Rochester Institute of Technology. His research explores issues related to human-centered computing and accessibility with projects addressing various issues including mobile computing, health information technologies, speech recognition, managing interruptions while working with information technologies, and assessing an individual's cognitive status via normal daily interactions with information technologies. His research activities have been supported by various companies, government agencies, and foundations including IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, NSF, NIDRR, NIST, and the Verizon Foundation. He is an Editor-in-Chief of the ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing and serves on the editorial boards of the European Journal of Information Systems, the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, and Universal Access in the Information Society. He served as Conference and Technical Program Co-Chair of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2001) and both General Chair and Program Chair for the ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2005 and ASSETS 2004).

Vice Chair

Clayton Lewis

Institution:

University of Colorado, USA

E-mail:

vc_sigaccess@acm.org

Biography:

Clayton Lewis is Professor of Computer Science and Scientist in Residence at the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities at the University of Colorado. He is well known for his work (with students and colleagues) on evaluation methods in user interface design, including the thinking aloud and cognitive walkthrough methods. His recent work on technology for people with cognitive disabilities has been presented to the US Access Board Technical Advisory Committee, CSUN, RESNA, ACM ASSETS, and other forums. He is a member of the CHI Academy, recognizing his contributions to Human Computer Interaction. He currently serves as a consultant on cloud computing for the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Secretary/Treasurer

Shari Trewin

Institution:

IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, USA

E-mail:

treasurer_sigaccess@acm.org

Biography:

Shari Trewin is General Chair of the Tenth International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS 2009), and served as Program Chair of the ASSETS 2007 conference. She is a member of the editorial board of ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing and serves as an accessibility reviewer for several international conferences and journals. She is a researcher at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center with interests in input, cognitive support tools, ageing and technology use, and accessibility in virtual worlds.

Past Chair

Vicki Hanson

Institution:

University of Dundee, UK

Phone:

+44 (0)138 238 6510

Biography:

Vicki Hanson is the previous Chair of ACM’s Special Interest Group on Accessibility (SIGACCESS) and has chaired their ASSETS’02 conference on Assistive Technologies. She is the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (with Andrew Sears), Associate Editor for Accessibility of ACM Transactions on the Web and has served as guest editor for several Special Issues on accessibility topics for journals. She is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and was named ACM Fellow in 2004 for her contributions to computing technologies for people with disabilities. She received the ACM SIGCHI 2008 Social Impact Award for her work.

Newsletter Editor

Jinjuan Heidi Feng

Institution:

Towson University, USA

E-mail:

editors_sigaccess@acm.org

Biography:

Jinjuan Heidi Feng joined Towson University in 2005. Her research focuses on the design and evaluation of interactive systems for individuals with disabilities. Her current research projects involve children with Down syndrome and users with upper body impairments that hinder the use of traditional input devices. Heidi has been a member of the program committee for ASSETS 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Information Director

Joshua Hailpern

Institution:

HP Labs

E-mail:

infodir_sigaccess@acm.org

Biography:

Joshua Hailpern is a Research Scientist at HP Labs, where he is part of the Social Computing Group. His research interests focus on interaction design, contextual system design, and technology targeting individuals with impairments. For his research on Autism voice visualizations he was the first CS recipient of the Autism Speaks Dennis Weatherstone Fellowship. He received his M.Sc degree in 2008 and his Ph.D. in 2012, both in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Executive Committee

The SIGACCESS Executive Committee comprises the officers, the Past Chair, the Editor of the SIGACCESS Newsletter, and three appointed members-at-large. No person may hold two positions on the Executive Committee.

Officers:

Chair: Andrew Sears

Vice Chair: Clayton Lewis

Secretary/Treasurer: Shari Trewin

Past Chair:

Vicki Hanson

Newsletter Editor:

Jinjuan Heidi Feng

Members-at-Large:

Faustina Hwang

Hesham Kamel

Gerhard Weber

Program Director

Irene Frawley

Institution:

The Association of Computing Machinery

Phone:

+1 212 626 0605

E-mail:

frawley@hq.acm.org