TRANSFORMING ACCESSIBILITY — To open the 2025 National Security Speaker Series, on Jan. 23, Sandia welcomed Michael P. Brenner, the Michael F. Cronin Professor of Applied Mathematics and physics professor at Harvard University and a research scientist at Google Research, for a keynote talk on applying machine learning to measure the progression of neurological diseases such as ALS, and to improve speech-recognition and text-to-speech technologies for people with severe impairments. “There’s so much room for experimentation and hacking, making things that are assistive and helping people, that it’s incredible what you can do,” Brenner said of a project called Speak Faster that aimed to dramatically improve gaze-assisted typing for people living with ALS. “The technical skills in our communities can make things happen.” Sandians can find Brenner’s talk in the Digital Media Library. (Photo by Craig Fritz)
