Experts
Dr Neil Scott (USA)
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- Founder & Director, Archimedes Hawaii Project,
University of Hawaii "One of the top 15 visionaries in
the Bay Area" "One of the five top
innovators in the United States" |
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Click here to view info on Neil Scott in PDF format."Making technology simple does not mean making
it dumb."
Neil Scott
For nearly three decades, Neil Scott has worked to extend access to computers and information appliances, including to the elderly and people with disabilities.
Born and educated in New Zealand (B.E. (Hons.), University of Canterbury), he served as Dean of the School of Physics, Electronics and Electrical Engineering at Wellington Polytechnic, in Wellington, New Zealand, where he spearheaded computer design, education, and training and became involved with adapting technology to serve people with disabilities.
After emigrating to the United States in 1986, for two years he consulted in disability and subsequently developed and for five years directed one of the world's first major Computer Access Labs for students with disabilities at California State University, Northridge.
In 1992 Neil co-founded the first Archimedes Project at Stanford University. He was the Chief Engineer and Director until 2003 when he moved to Hawaii. His links with Stanford continue through Archimedes and in his role as a visiting researcher at Stanford University. In 2003 Neil founded the Archimedes Hawaii Project at the University of Hawaii, which he is the Director of.
Neil has been honored many times for his work. In 2002 he was named a Lifetime Laureate of the Tech Museum of Innovation in California. He received this honor from thousands of nominations. His seminal influence on shaping how people will live, think, work, and play in the new millennium won him recognition as a leading futurist (San Francisco Magazine, January 2000). He was also nominated in the 1997 Discover Magazine awards as one of the five top innovators in the United States in the field of computer hardware and electronics.
Neil has extensive experience with speech recognition and has been applying it to the needs of individuals with disabilities since 1987. One of his inventions, the Total Access System (U.S. Patent 6083270), which provides universal access to computer and other electronic devices through such technologies as speech recognition, head tracking, and eye tracking, lead to him being named among the five top innovations in computer hardware by Discover Magazine.
Other activities involve collaborating in the development of
standards for human-centred interfaces to computers, developing new technologies
to assist ageing people and individuals with disabilities and developing human-centred
interfaces for smart houses and appliances and safer cars.
Neil has been a member of several White House committees on access issues.
He has been involved with many elite technology think-tanks at which today's
thought leaders engage in highly interactive discussion with the senior technology
strategists of large public and private organisations.
"Give me a lever long enough and
a place to stand, and I will move the world."
Archimedes, 230 BC
"Technology gives individuals the power to move their world."
The Archimedes Project, 2002 AD
The first Archimedes was founded at Stanford University in 1990 as an independent
research organization. Archimedes Hawaii Project was founded in 2003 at the
University of Hawaii.
The Archimedes Project studies barriers to accessing and using information,
computers, and information appliances and identifies and designs innovative
solutions, including accessors, that advance universal access to and use of
information and control of one's environment. Our multidisciplinary teams
of faculty, researchers, students, IT engineers, and international visitors
work to improve interaction with computers and information and control of
their environment for people with disabilities, the elderly, people with limited
literacy, and people who use computers and information appliances. Believing
that information technology holds enormous promise for improving human lives,
The Archimedes Project is dedicated to helping realize that promise through
original and collaborative research, education, and studies and projects for
companies, organizations, and nations. Visit Archimedes at http://archimedes.stanford.edu
About The Archimedes Foundation
The Archimedes Foundation funds and supports research to improve access to information for people with disabilities and the development of practical solutions to achieve that objective.
- Dr Dobb's Journal Article, December 2000, Innovations In User Interfaces
- IMP Magazine Article, March 2001, Intelligent User Interfaces
- IMP Magazine Article,
June 2001, Computers in Education
*Neil has had a request for this article to be used as a briefing paper for the Library of Congress
1969 - 1970 B.E, Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand. First
Class Honors in Electrical Engineering
1964 - 1968 New Zealand Technician's Authority. New Zealand Certificate in
Engineering (Telecommunications, pass with distinction).
Employment
1992 - … Stanford University. Chief Engineer for The Archimedes Project
at Stanford University's Center for the Study of Language and Information
(CSLI). Developing computer access technology for individuals with disabilities
1987 - 1992 California State University, Northridge. Special Projects Engineer,
Office of Disabled Student Services, California State University, Northridge
(CSUN). Access Technology Specialist, designed and set up the Computer Access
Laboratory which served over 1,000 disabled students at CSUN.
1986 - 1987 Private Consultant in Disability Access. San Francisco
1974 - 1986 Wellington Polytechnic, Wellington, New Zealand. Lecturer, Assistant
Dean, and then Dean of School of Physics, Electronics, Telecommunications
and Electrical Engineering (PETE), Wellington Polytechnic, Wellington, N.Z.
1971 - 1973 New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation. Radio and Television Development
Engineer, Home Office of New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, Wellington,
N.Z.
Honors and Professional Associations
- 2006: Awarded an honorary doctorate in science by the University of Canterbury.
- 2002: Named as a Lifetime Laureate by California's Tech Museum of Innovation. Honored for Work Equalizing Access to Information for People with Disabilities and Limitations Associated Read the Mercury News article or read the press release.
- 2000: Named as 'one of the 15 futurists in the Bay Area who will shape the way people live, think, work and play in the new millennium' by San Francisco Magazine.
- 1997 Nominated by Discover Magazine as one of top five innovators in computer hardware and electronics for conceiving and developing the Total Access System.
- 1985 - 1986 Senior Fellow in Education, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand, investigating feasibility of distance-teaching in remote N.Z. areas, and researching and writing book on using computers to assist people with disabilities;
- 1984 - 1984 Visiting Scholar, Academy for Educational Development, Washington, D.C. Devised solutions for problems in the area of satellite-based distance-teaching.
- 1982 - 1982 Fulbright Scholarship at various locations in the U.S. to study; 1) ways in which universities were using computers and satellites to provide access for disabled and remotely located students; and 2) computer access for individuals with disabilities.
- Using the Total Access System to Access the World Wide Web. Paper and presentation to the World Wide Web Sixth International Conference, Santa Clara, April, 1997
- Disability, Inability and Cyberspace, John Perry, Elizabeth Macken, Neil Scott, and Jan Mckinley, July 1966
- Survey of Problems faced by Blind and Visually Impaired Computer Users Because of GUI, Paper and presentation to AER Conference, Dallas, July 1994
- Computer Assistance for People with Disabilities, first edition published in New Zealand, 1986; second edition revised for and published in U.S., 1987
- Co-author, with Catherine Britell, M.D., of chapter on assistive technology in Principles and Practices of Rehabilitation Medicine, second edition. Edited by Joel Delisa and published by Lippincott. Due out in fall of 1992
- Co-author, with Marshall Raskind, of chapter on technology and software for learning disabled students in Success For College Students with Learning Disabilities. Edited by Vogel and Adelman. Published by Springer Verlag, 1992
- Ghost writer of Computer Organization and Architecture for James Adair, Harvard. Glenview, Illinois, Scott Foresman and Company, 1988
- Universal Speech Access, Proceedings of Speech Tech/Voice Systems Worldwide 1992, and conference, Media Dimensions, Inc., New York, February 4-6, 1992
- The Universal Access System, presentation at the American Voice Input/Output Society Conference, Atlanta, September, 1991
- Co-author, with Marshall Raskind, of "SoundProof,"
an IBM screen reading program for individuals with learning disabilities.
This program is licensed to HumanWare, Inc., Sacramento, who have been manufacturing
and distributing it world-wide since 1991.
Patents: - Patent pending for the Total Access System
Developing and Applying Technology
- Total Access System: Designed and developed System which enables any disabled person to use any computer
- Speech Recognition systems: Extensive experience since 1989 in setting up speech recognition systems and training disabled individuals to use them in educational and work environments.
- Computer Access Lab at California State University, Northridge: Designed, set-up and ran this lab for students with disabilities during its initial phase of operation.
- SensorSwitch: Developed the SensorSwitch for detecting minuscule muscle movements and licensed it to Don Johnson Developmental Equipment for manufacture and distribution.
- Technical Aid Trust: Set up national New Zealand Technical Aid Trust to bring together technical resources for providing assistance to disabled people.
- Augmentative Communication Devices: Developed computers and programs for enabling physically disabled persons to use computers as communication devices.
- Poly Educational Computer System: Initiated, designed and developed the Poly Educational Computer System for the New Zealand Department of Education.
- PeaceSat Network: Developed components for, and participated in installation and operation of the PeaceSat Network (Pacific-wide satellite communication system using an old ATS1 weather satellite).
Media Coverage in NZ
Following is a small sample of media coverage from NZ and around the world:
December 2003: NZ Connection website: Making
Technology Ordinary
13 December 2003: Dominion Post: Technology meets needs of aged & disabled
10 December 2003: Christchurch Press: Enhancing
lives holds profitable prospects
18 August 2003: Computerworld: Embedded
systems call for efficiency
May 2003: Auckland Today: Niche
marketing the solution to being globally competitive
14/10/2002: Computerworld: Get
ready to talk to your PC - really
1/7/2002: Unlimited Magazine: Diaspora
2/4/2002: PC World:
Road to innovation
18/12/01: Christchurch Press: Expat brings vision to NZ for NZ to ride access
wave
18/12/01: Christchurch Press: Neil Scott - Sound Bytes
17/12/01: Computerworld: Collaborate
to thrive urges expat
17/12/01: Computerworld: US
agents seek Kiwi collaborators
12/12/01: The New Zealand Herald: Expatriate
picks NZ as place for prototypes
11/12/01: TelstraBusiness, TV1: Interview
Media Coverage around the world
Jul. 22, 2002: Wired News: Raising
the Accessibility Bar
May 10, 2002: Wired News: A
Wearable Aid for Special Kids
Jul 1997: Discover Magazine: Discover
Awards - Computer Hardware & Electronics
March/April 1996: Stanford Today
Edition: Total
Access Despite Disabilities