Community Partner Spotlight: Open Doors for Multicultural Families
CREATE Community partner Open Doors for Multicultural Families (ODMF) supports multicultural and underserved communities, including individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families.
ASSETS 2026: CREATE Papers, Presentations and Demos
August 31, 2026 CREATE faculty, students, and alumni will present their research at ASSETS 2026 in Porto, Portugal this October. Posters and demos are still being added. Let us know if we missed anything. Awards Wobbrock to receive the 2026 SIGACCESS Award for Outstanding Contributions to Computing and Accessibility Congratulations to Jacob O. Wobbrock on…
AccessMap expands beyond the sidewalk
September 21, 2026 AccessMap is an open-source pedestrian navigation platform that provides customized directions for people looking to avoid access barriers such as hills, construction sites, and high-clearance curbs. To prepare for thousands of FIFA World Cup fans visiting Seattle this summer—including many with disabilities—AccessMap researchers expanded the tool to include event-specific guidance. A pin…
Amy Ko Joins CREATE Leadership
July 7, 2026 We are happy to announce that Amy J. Ko has joined CREATE leadership as Director of Education. Dr. Ko studies equitable, liberatory learning about computing and information in schools and beyond. Her work draws from human-computer interaction, computing education, software engineering, programming languages, learning sciences, behavioral sciences, sociology, and more. Ko has…
Feldner Provides Expertise, Perspective on "Smart" Wheelchairs
July 14, 2026 In a recent IEEE article shared by UW News, CREATE Associate Director Heather Feldner provided her expertise on the possibilities of self-driving wheelchairs — powered mobility devices that are not currently designed or readily customizable for the diverse needs of individuals with disabilities. Smart wheelchairs are just becoming available for purchase. Starting…
Johnson, Glazko and Zhang highlighted for work on AI research for people with disabilities
July 1, 2026 Seattle’s Komo news highlighted the research of three CREATE researchers using AI to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Interviewed were Jazette Johnson, Kate Glazko, and Zhuohao (Jerry) Zhang. Dr. Jazette Johnson, a postdoctoral research fellow working with CREATE Director Jennifer Mankoff, studies the use of AI by people with cognitive…
Mia Hoffman awarded 2026 Graduate School Medal
June 29, 2026 Congratulations to recent graduate Dr. Mia Hoffman, Ph.D. 2026 Mechanical Engineering, on receiving the 2026 UW Graduate School Medal! Hoffman was recognized for her work to reimagine assistive technology for young children. She was also honored this year by UW Husky100 for “making the most of their time at the University of…
CREATE Accessibility Hackathon, Summer 2026
The 2026 CREATE Accessibility Hackathon explored AI solutions to accessibility needs. This year, we had more community and disability and industry representation than ever before. It led to some wonderful and exciting projects that are continuing to develop through CREATE's Tinkerer Tuesdays, where students, faculty, community members, and others meet and collaborate. This event was…
Alum Nicole Zaino combines research in biomechanics, assistive technology with world-class Para Nordic skiing
June 17, 2025 While Nicole Zaino was Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, her study of biomechanics and assistive technology focused on customized mobility devices and how individuals use and are impacted by mobility aids. Advised by Katherine M. Steele and Heather Feldner, she also served as HuskyADAPT's Community Outreach Chair and worked in the IMPACT…
Steele elected fellow of the American Society of Biomechanics
June 15, 2026 CREATE associate director Katherine M. Steele has been elected a fellow of the American Society of Biomechanics. In the honor from her primary professional society, Steele was cited for her work integrating engineering and medicine at multiple hospitals across the country, her award-winning research, and her work with CREATE to bridge engineering,…
Social Stories for Families to Help Children with Autism: Lessons from Panama
April 6, 2026 For individuals with autism and their families, navigating social situations, especially new or unpredictable ones, can be difficult. Research led by CREATE faculty member Annuska Zolyomi has shown that families in Panama have used storytelling to help prepare their children with autism for social situations. Zolyomi's research, in turn, has led to…
Community-based research gets new funding for work in computing, information
May 18, 2026 The UW's Community-Engaged Computing Initiative (CECI) is a joint initiative to support projects that bring researchers in computing and information together with community partners. The initiative seeks to bring sustainable, equitable, and inclusive technology into real-world contexts. With an emphasis on funding research efforts with historically underfunded community partners, CECI supports work…
New Voices in CREATE - the 2026 edition
April 21, 2026 In April, the CREATE Accessibility Seminar welcomed three new(-ish) CREATE faculty members to share their research interests in accessibility, disability studies, and disability-related fields. The faculty members Dr. Cecilia Aragon is the director of the Human-Centered Data Science Lab and a professor emeritus in Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE). She has…
CHI 2026: Papers and Presentations on Accessibility
March 23, 2026 Accessibility-related papers, presentations, and workshops from CREATE researchers at CHI 2026, the ACM CHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. We appreciate your patience as we continue to update this page. Congratulations to CREATE associate director Jon E. Froehlich, who will be honored with a Societal Impact Award at the 2026 SIGCHI Conference in Barcelona!…
A Study in Cross-Cultural Relationship Building and Community-Based Research
March 10, 2026 CREATE faculty member Annuska Zolyomi co-led a collaborative exploration of how technology could help autistic individuals and their families. Celebrating Neurodiversity: Ichi-go Ichi-e Symposium, held in Tokyo in 2023, brought together thought leaders in HCI research and autism communities from Japan, North America, and Europe to explore neurodiversity in the Japanese context.…
OpenThePaths: Connecting people & places through ethical AI
March 9, 2026 If you drive, you've probably used route-finding apps with reasonable success. But these tools do not take into consideration people with mobility challenges who need information about sidewalks, not roads. Washington State’s first map of pedestrian infrastructure, OS-CONNECT, was a main topic at the recent OpenThePaths Conference. Organized by CREATE associate director…
Ed Summers joins CREATE's advisory board
March 2, 2026 Welcome Ed Summers to CREATE's advisory board! The Head of Accessibility at GitHub, Ed Summers also serves on disability-related government and not-for-profit boards. As a blind software engineer and leader of accessibility programs within large technology companies, Summers' personal mission is to enable people with disabilities to realize their full potential in…
Kane, Jayant, Wobbrock, Ladner: 2025 SIGACCESS ASSETS Paper Impact Award
March 6, 2026 A paper on mobile device accessibility and co-authored by CREATE leaders was honored with the 10-Year Lasting Impact Award at the International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS ’25). The 2009 ACM ASSETS paper, Freedom to roam: A study of mobile device adoption and accessibility for people with visual and…
Richard Ladner: SIGCSE Outstanding Contribution to CS Education Award
March 5, 2026 Richard Ladner, CREATE's Founding Director for Education Emeritus and a continuing CREATE faculty member, received the 2026 Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award at the ACM SIGCSE Conference. The award cited Ladner’s contributions to accessible computer science education at the K-12, college, and graduate levels and was given “in recognition of…
Jon E. Froehlich Honored with SIGCHI Societal Impact Award
March 3, 2026 CREATE associate director Jon E. Froehlich received a Societal Impact Award at the 2026 SIGCHI Conference for addressing accessibility challenges through HCI and AI. Froehlich, a professor of computer science and engineering in the Allen School, directs the UW Makeability Lab, utilizing human-computer interaction (HCI) and machine learning to tackle high-impact socially…
Adaptive Solutions Mini-Hackathon: 2026 Recap
February 26, 2026 In January, CREATE and HuskyADAPT teamed up with the King County Library System (KCLS) to host a mini-hackathon to brainstorm and prototype solutions to accessibility problems. After an introduction to five real-world requests submitted by the disability community, participants self-selected their projects and got to work building their prototypes. These diverse teams…
Hackfest project for children with cerebral palsy goes on to win design awards
January 29, 2026 Internationally recognized research to address a real-world need got its start at a CREATE hackfest. In 2024, students Lige Yang and Richard Li teamed up at the CREATE AI+Accessibility Hackfest to explore the concept of an AI tool that could monitor a person’s seated position, identify when they are in a posture…
Katharina Reinecke explores how “digital culture shock” manifests in the world
November 17, 2025 In her new book, CREATE faculty member and professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, Katharina Reinecke explores how “digital culture shock” manifests in the world, in ways innocuous and sometimes harmful. The overwhelm people can feel when suddenly immersed in a new culture — a flurry of unfamiliar…
Hala Annabi to lead new UW Institute for Neurodiversity and Employment
October 21, 2025 CREATE congratulates faculty member Dr. Hala Annabi on her new role as the Founding Director of the new UW Institute for Neurodiversity and Employment. The institute will bring together an interdisciplinary team of leading scholars, practitioners, and employers. Together they will work to build the capacity of the UW, Washington state, and…
2025 Race, Disability and Technology Funded Research
September 22, 2025 In our ongoing efforts to support new avenues in research on race, disability, and technology, CREATE funded three new Race, Disability, and Technology (RDT) grants in 2025. We are happy to report that this year we received more applications for the RDT grants than in previous years. We also received more applications…
With new NIH funding, CREATE postdoc Bethany Sloane continues research for children with cerebral palsy, motor delays
September 15, 2025 CREATE postdoctoral researcher Bethany Sloane has been working to expand power mobility options for young children with cerebral palsy and other mobility delays. The NIH K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award will allow her to pursue her research for the next four years. Exploration and self-initiated mobility are known to support…
Blind and Low Vision Teens Join CREATE through YES2 Summer Internships
September 3, 2025 This summer, CREATE hosted three high school/undergraduate interns through a program that focuses on career preparation for young Washingtonians who are blind or visually disabled. Left to right: YES2 intern Susanna Haley, DUB Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) student Kaija Frierson, YES2 intern Mohammed Al-jawadi, YES2 intern Kaleb The Washington Department of…
ASSETS 2025: CREATE Papers, Presentations and Demos
August 27, 2025 CREATE faculty, students, and alumni will be well represented at ASSETS 2025 in Denver this fall. In addition to the papers and experience reports listed below, these CREATE members are part of the ASSETS 2025 Program Committee: CREATE associate director Leah Findlater and several CREATE postdoctoral researchers: Emma McDonnell (also a CREATE…
Next Steps: People of CREATE Updates
June 11, 2025 Congratulations to students and postdocs on a productive academic year! Join us in celebrating these career steps. Graduation Congratulations to CREATE member Anant Mittal, a newly minted Ph.D., for completing his program and successfully defending his thesis! During his program, Mittal, advised by James Fogarty, worked on the design and development of…
Community Day 2025 Recap
June 5, 2025 On May 28, CREATE student and faculty researchers gathered with industry and community partners to discuss concerns about and approaches to sustainable accessibility research. Two hybrid panel discussions covered timely topics, followed by research presentations from CREATE students and the CREATE-HuskyADAPT Research Showcase. Thank you to all who attended Community Day and…