OAD post-doctoral researcher, Dr Wanda Diaz, gave a talk at TEDx Vancouver in Canada. She talked about the sonification techniques that she uses to conduct research and her “dreams of a level scientific playing field” that allows people with disabilities to contribute to the field.
Wanda Diaz Merced studies the light emitted by gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic events in the universe. When she lost her sight and was left without a way to do her science, she had a revelatory insight: the light curves she could no longer see could be translated into sound. Through sonification, she regained mastery over her work, and now she’s advocating for a more inclusive scientific community. “Science is for everyone,” she says. “It has to be available to everyone, because we are all natural explorers.”
View the TED talk