[ti:Scientists with Disabilities Seek Changes to Improve their Work]
[al:Education Report]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2025-01-29]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]Disabled researchers often face barriers while carrying out their work.
[00:08.15]So some scientists with disabilities are seeking to increase attention about the problem and come up with workable solutions.
[00:21.56]Anita Marshall is a geologist with the University of Florida. 
[00:27.94]She recently told The Associated Press (AP) that while she faces some limitations, it does not mean she cannot do her job. 
[00:41.00]"Just because you can't do it like someone else doesn't mean you can't do it," she said.
[00:50.21]Marshall recently led an outing of disabled researchers to a natural lake in Southern California's San Bernadino National Forest.
[01:04.46]The group included scientists and students with disabilities related to sight, hearing and mobility.
[01:13.91]They visited Lost Lake, which sits along the area's San Andreas Fault. 
[01:21.18]The fault contains two tectonic plates that can cause earthquakes.
[01:27.68]The trip was organized by Marshall's group, called the International Association for Geoscience Diversity. 
[01:37.80]It aims to demonstrate the difficulties, or challenges, disabled researchers often face. 
[01:47.14]Other groups also aim to improve access to field and laboratory work so those with disabilities feel welcome and stay.
[02:00.88]Taormina Lepore is a Western Michigan University paleontologist who went on the trip.
[02:09.60]She told the AP that one problem is that many scientists seem to value a single, traditional way of doing their work.
[02:20.81]This makes it more difficult to get changes for disabled researchers.
[02:28.84]On the trip to Lost Lake, everyone got to see the lake even if they could not get there physically. 
[02:37.56]Some attendees saw the surroundings on video taken by a drone.
[02:44.11]Lepore, who also researches science education, said an important part of the process is for scientists to think about what might help other scientists they work with.
[03:00.56]"It's really about empathy, as much as it is about science."
[03:06.95]The National Science Foundation said in 2021 that disabled people make up about three percent of the science, technology, engineering, and math workforce.
[03:23.58]Scientists with disabilities say the low percentage is partly because labs, classrooms and field areas are not designed for disabled individuals.
[03:39.51]Mark Leddy used to oversee disability-related grants for the National Science Foundation.
[03:48.66]He noted that some students and faculty are still told they cannot work in a lab or do research safely.
[03:59.37]The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 does set rules for new buildings and labs.
[04:08.88]These include requiring ramps and walkways that can be used by people in wheelchairs.
[04:17.66]But making changes to older labs can be costly and difficult.
[04:24.25]Alyssa Paparella is working on her doctorate degree in biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.
[04:35.40]She founded an online community for disabled scientists. 
[04:41.37]Paparella said a science building at one of her former schools did not have the needed buttons to open the doors.
[04:52.76]"That's the front door that they're not even able to get in."
[04:58.36]Leddy said researchers with disabilities are invaluable because of their life experiences. 
[05:07.44]They have to come up with creative ways to get past barriers in their lives - a problem-solving skill that is needed in a lab.
[05:20.57]Jennifer Piatek is a professor of Earth and Space Sciences at Central Connecticut State University.
[05:31.25]She uses a wheelchair but was able to see through drone video.
[05:39.15]Piatek said it was nice to be part of a community that took her needs into account. 
[05:47.50]You can learn a lot from images and maps, "but really you need to get to the space to be in it."
[05:57.01]Western Michigan's Lepore is a neurodivergent person with low vision. 
[06:04.65]She noted, "Nature is not inherently accessible."
[06:11.21]Bushra Hussaini works at New York City's American Museum of Natural History. 
[06:19.31]She told the AP that by going on field trips, she learns new ways to support interns and volunteers who visit the museum.
[06:31.77]She said the supportive community of geologists is what keeps her coming back. 
[06:39.37]"We learn from each other and we help each other."
[06:43.47]As a doctoral student, Marshall went on field trips with other students.
[06:50.57]But she often had to wait in the car because the organizers had not thought about her disabilities.
[06:59.71]Marshall wants things to be different for the next generation of scientists. 
[07:07.34]"The whole point of these little day trips is to just plant that seed out there...that there's another way forward," she said.
[07:19.57]I'm Mario Ritter Jr. And I'm Caty Weaver.