Scientists with Disabilities Seek Changes to Improve their Work

01Disabled researchers often face barriers while carrying out their work.

02So, some scientists with disabilities are seeking to increase attention about the problem and come up with workable solutions.

03Anita Marshall is a geologist with the University of Florida.

04She recently told the Associated Press, AP, that while she faces some limitations, it does not mean she cannot do her job.

05Just because you can't do it like someone else doesn't mean you can't do it, she said.

06Marshall recently led an outing of disabled researchers to a natural lake in Southern California's San Bernardino National Forest.

07The group included scientists and students with disabilities related to sight, hearing, and mobility.

08They visited Lost Lake, which sits along the area's San Andreas Fault.

09The fault contains two tectonic plates that can cause earthquakes.

10The trip was organized by Marshall's group called the International Association for Geoscience Diversity.

11It aims to demonstrate the difficulties or challenges disabled researchers often face.

12Other groups also aim to improve access to field and laboratory work so those with disabilities feel welcome and stay.

13Taormina Lepore is a Western Michigan University paleontologist who went on the trip.

14She told the AP that one problem is that many scientists seem to value a single traditional way of doing their work.

15This makes it more difficult to get changes for disabled researchers.

16On the trip to Lost Lake, everyone got to see the lake even if they could not get there physically.

17Some attendees saw the surroundings on video taken by a drone.

18Lepore, 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.

19It's really about empathy, as much as it is about science.

20The National Science Foundation said in 2021 that disabled people make up about 3% of the science, technology, engineering, and math workforce.

21Scientists with disabilities say the low percentage is partly because labs, classrooms, and field areas are not designed for disabled individuals.

22Mark Letty used to oversee disability-related grants for the National Science Foundation.

23He noted that some students and faculty are still told they cannot work in a lab or do research safely.

24The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 does set rules for new buildings and labs.

25These include requiring ramps and walkways that can be used by people in wheelchairs.

26But making changes to older labs can be costly and difficult.

27Alyssa Paparella is working on her doctorate degree in biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

28She founded an online community for disabled scientists.

29Paparella said a science building at one of her former schools did not have the needed buttons to open the doors.

30That's the front door that they're not even able to get in.

31Letty said researchers with disabilities are invaluable because of their life experiences.

32They have to come up with creative ways to get past barriers in their lives.

33A problem-solving skill that is needed in a lab.

34Jennifer Piotek is a professor of earth and space sciences at Central Connecticut State University.

35She uses a wheelchair but was able to see through drone video.

36Piotek said it was nice to be part of a community that took her needs into account.

37You can learn a lot from images and maps, but really you need to get to the space to be in it.

38Western Michigan's Lepore is a neurodivergent person with low vision.

39She noted, nature is not inherently accessible.

40Bushra Husseini works at New York City's American Museum of Natural History.

41She told the AP that by going on field trips, she learns new ways to support interns and volunteers who visit the museum.

42She said the supportive community of geologists is what keeps her coming back.

43We learn from each other and we help each other.

44As a doctoral student, Marshall went on field trips with other students, but she often had to wait in the car because the organizers had not thought about her disabilities.

45Marshall wants things to be different for the next generation of scientists.

46The whole point of these little day trips is to just plant that seed out there, that there's another way forward, she said.

47I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

48And I'm Katie Weaver.