CREATE

CREATE is the Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences. Our mission is to make technology accessible and to make the world accessible through technology.

The need for greater access

Top photo: student with dexterity disability working with 2 others on design. Bottom photo: Student works with participant to test touch-enabled devices for people with motor impairments

A core mantra of the disability movement is “Nothing about us without us,” yet technical advances often assume a certain set of abilities, limit customizability, and fail to include people with disabilities as creators of technology.

The major challenges of creating accessible technology and of making the world accessible through technology are outpacing even the most talented individual researchers and small teams. 

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YEAR 4 IMPACT REPORT:
CREATE’s Successes in Research, Education, Translation, Leadership, and New Projects

Our annual look at the past year’s goals and accomplishments highlights CREATE’s continued evolution as we strive to meet the demands of the growing and ever-changing field of accessible technology and to better serve our many communities—students, faculty, and community and industry partners. We added a new role to CREATE’s leadership: Dr. Olivia Banner joined us as our Director of Strategy and Operations. Associate Director Mark Harniss stepped into the position of CREATE’s Director of Education. Our faculty has grown from our original nine founders to include more than twenty people. Finally, we sent into the world five newly minted Ph.D.s, all of them champions of accessibility. Together we move forward in our mission and our commitment to CREATEing a bright, accessible future for all!

Cover page of the CREATE Year 4 Impact Report, published in August 2024.
CREATE’s Year 4 Impact Report. View/download the accessible PDF.

Taking accessibility to the next level

By supporting CREATE, you support education, fund research, and translate those to real-world solutions for the 1 in 4 people in the U.S. who have disabilities.

Donate to CREATE

Cross-campus, interdisciplinary team

A consortium of faculty from the University of Washington’s Allen School, Mechanical Engineering, School of Medicine, and the iSchool.

Composite image of CREATE leadership – First row: Anat Caspi, Heather Feldner, Leah Findlater, James Fogarty, Jon Froehlich. Second row: Mark Harniss (Director for Education), Jennifer Mankoff (Director), Kat Steele, Jacob O. Wobbrock.
CREATE Leadership – First row: Anat Caspi, Heather Feldner, Leah Findlater, James Fogarty, Jon Froehlich. Second row: Mark Harniss (Director for Education), Jennifer Mankoff (Director), Kat Steele, Jacob O. Wobbrock.

People of CREATE


CREATE & community calendar

View Full CREATE Calendar

Feldner and Mankoff on CREATE:
The center’s long-term goals, ongoing research highlights, and their views of common misconceptions about disability

CREATE Director Jennifer Mankoff and Associate Director Heather Feldner appeared on the CREATE-ing Access episode of National Science Foundation’s NSF Discovery Files. Give it a look and give it a like!

Still image from YouTube video: split screen with Heather Feldner and Jennifer Mankoff discussing CREATE on National Science Foundation’s NSF Discovery Files.