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Dr. Karyn Moffatt of the School of Information Studies awarded Google grant to help people with aphasia

Published: 15 September 2014

Congratulations to Dr. Karyn Moffatt of the McGill School of Information Studies on her Google Faculty Award grant for the project "Supporting Communication for Persons with Aphasia via Contextual Prompting on a Heads-Up Display" with Co-PI Dr. Leah Findlater, University of Maryland, College Park.

This project will develop a new form of communication support tool using Google Glasses. People with aphasia experience reduced ability to use or understand words, which can result in the sudden loss of lifelong language skills. The project will provide unobtrusive vocabulary prompting to give support for users right where it is needed, providing critical support to assist individuals with aphasia to regain independence and quality of life.

Dr. Moffatt directs the Accessible Computing Technology (ACT) Research Group Lab, which seeks to develop technologies accessible to a broad range of users, including older adults and people with disabilities. Particular attention is placed on understanding the role of social relationships on the use and adoption of new technologies.

Google Research Awards are one-year awards structured as unrestricted gifts to universities to support the work of world-class full-time faculty members at top universities around the world. The intent of the Google Research Awards is to support cutting-edge research in computer science, engineering, and related fields.

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