Laura Rice, CARD Director spoke on CARD activities, and future goals at the CHAD Symposium on April 22. The 2023-2024 year in review included the Spring 2024 Collaborative Working Group meetings hosted Joshua Leonardis, Ph.D., at his Movement Analysis Laboratory at Freer Hall and Deana McDonagh, Ph.D., at her (dis) Ability Design Studio at Beckman Institute. The CARD Speaker Series fall event, “Building a Disabled Scholars Coalition” and “Experience Accessible Champaign-Urbana” presented by CARD member, Emily Tarconish, Ph.D., was highlighted as was the Springtime Science Community Seminar Series in the spring. Laura also showcased the CARD Steering Committee and communication strategies including the CARD website, the CARD Teams channel, and the monthly newsletter. The talk ended with plans for future CARD activities including hosting a bi-annual research symposium, recruiting external speakers, development of a “tool kit” for UIUC faculty to support the performance of disability-related research in the Champaign-Urbana area, and responding to disability-related funding opportunities.
CARD invited and introduced the CHAD Symposium Keynote Speaker, Garrett Grindle, Ph.D., from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Grindle’s presentation, “Build it! Using Digital Manufacturing to Create Novel AT Devices” explored how modern digital fabrication technologies, such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and CAD/CAM software, have been used to accelerate and advance AT. After the CHAD Symposium, CARD hosted a lunch for Dr. Grindle who was welcomed and joined by many CARD members who shared in conversation.