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Technology solutions to support blind students in the chemistry laboratory

For blind and low vision chemists to participate independently in the chemistry laboratory we must employ principles of universal design and embrace new technologies mirroring those available outside the lab. By designing a first-year chemistry course that provides non-visual access, we are taking the first step to empower more blind and low vision people to be successful in chemistry careers.

In recent years, the chemistry community has embraced various initiatives that aim to increase equity and diversity in our discipline1. Despite renewed energy and commitment in this space, there remain many groups of people who are underrepresented across all stages of higher education and the broader career pipeline. Chemists who are blind or live with low vision are one such group who remain notably absent from both student cohorts, as well as careers in academia and industry.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Traditional Owners of the land on which we research, teach and collaborate at the University of Sydney. We acknowledge the supportive environment that the School of Chemistry provides for this work, and in particular P. Devi and the First Year Technical Team for their assistance with trial experiments. Our work has been supported by grants from the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Inclusion and Diversity Fund, the University of Sydney’s Educational Innovation Program and the School of Chemistry’s Alan Williams Bequest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Cary A. Supalo

  2. School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Cary A. Supalo, Siegbert Schmid & Alice Motion

  3. Independence Science, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Jasodhara Bhattacharya

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  1. Cary A. Supalo
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  2. Siegbert Schmid
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  3. Jasodhara Bhattacharya
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  4. Alice Motion
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Correspondence to
Cary A. Supalo or Siegbert Schmid.

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Competing interests

C.A.S. is the founder of Independence Science, developing access technologies for making laboratory learning accessible to blind and low vision students. J.B. is employed by Independence Science and oversees science accessibility research. S.S. and A.M. declare no competing interests.

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Supalo, C.A., Schmid, S., Bhattacharya, J. et al. Technology solutions to support blind students in the chemistry laboratory.
Nat Rev Chem (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-023-00559-x

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  • Published: 15 November 2023

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-023-00559-x

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