"Assistive Campus" Project Awarded Blasker Grant

A prototype system to deliver wireless assistive services to people with disabilities

7.30.03 - At a recent ceremony at the San Diego Natural History Museum, Ramesh Rao, Director of the UCSD Division of Calit², accepted a $75k grant from the Blasker-Rose-Miah Fund of the San Diego Foundation to support the Assistive Campus project.

This award will support building a prototype system to deliver wireless assistive services to people with disabilities, enabling them to enjoy anytime, anywhere access to Internet-based information and services. Paul Blair, a postdoctoral project coordinator, will assist Rao on this project.

"The technologies that we propose to develop will assist individuals with permanent disability," says Rao, "as well as help able individuals who find themselves in circumstances where they are temporarily disabled."

Rao's proposal was recognized at the ceremony as "one of the best proposals we've ever seen in terms of its milestones and goals." The award also acknowledged Blair's intense personal passion for the project, which had a significant impact on the review committee at its site visit.

"We are especially excited about this project," confirms Blair, "as it will expose many individuals to next-generation assistive technologies. Not only will UCSD researchers be able to study and develop wireless, assistive technologies but, through our Calit² living labs, individuals in the community will have opportunities to sample the results early on. I want to personally thank the San Diego Foundation for recognizing the potential of this project."

The award was one of 14 made totaling $803k, which were selected from 42 submissions requesting $2.5M. The awards were made in two general areas: science and technology, and the environment. Other awardees in science and technology included the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego State University Foundation, Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute, The Scripps Research Institute, and the Neurosciences Institute. Frances Dynes Hellman, UCSD physicist, and Martha Dennis, head of the San Diego Telecom Council, are members of the Science and Technology Working Group. Dennis is also a member of the San Diego Foundation Board of Governors.

The Blasker Fund supports "unique and innovative work in science, engineering, and medicine, including fields of study as yet unknown.and.the development of emerging scientists to reach their full potential." It is named after Sam Blasker, an aeronautical engineer, and his wife who provided an $8-million endowment in 1989. 2003 represents the third year that awards have been made, now totaling nearly $4M.

The San Diego Foundation's purpose is "to improve the quality of life within all of our communities by promoting and increasing responsible and effective philanthropy."