On eve of 12th anniversary of ADA, careers in science opening to disabled

Blind physicist Kent Cullers to speak at Hill briefing

Dr. Kent Cullers, the blind physicist who served as the model for the character in the movie “Contact,” will speak at an event on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, 23 July, celebrating the accomplishments of a group of young disabled scientists who have “made it over the wall” and into careers in computer science, biology, mechanical engineering and aerospace.

The Capitol Hill briefing, which comes three days before the 12th anniversary of the Americans for Disabilities Act, will demonstrate the tremendous contribution that young people with disabilities can make in the public and private sector to satisfy the nation’s continuing hunger for people with scientific and technical skills. In this case, they have done so with the help of the ENTRY POINT! internship program, sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The briefing will present the real-life experiences of young ENTRY POINT! interns who have overcome significant disabilities to build successful careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. An upcoming report will also be presented that examines the factors that have enabled these students to succeed, and provides recommendations for policymakers to ease the way for more students to enter these fields in the future. For more information, see http://www.entrypoint.org.

Speakers:

Dr. Kent Cullers, Director of R&D, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI); Featured in the film "Contact"
Kelly Halacka, Bioengineering Student, Case Western Reserve University; Intern, NASA Johnson Space Center
James Sharples, Mechanical Engineer; Former Intern, NASA Ames Research Center

WHAT: New Career Paths for Students with Disabilities: Opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

WHEN: Tuesday, 23 July 2002, 12:00 noon – 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Capitol Hill Rayburn House Office Building Room B-369

HOSTS: Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and Rep. James Walsh

RSVP: Reporters should RSVP to Monica Amarelo at 202-326-6431 or mamarelo@aaas.org.

General public should RSVP to Dave Cooper at 202-326-6661 or dcooper@aaas.org.

MEDIA NOTE: Real-time captioning available with advance notice

This briefing has been organized by the AAAS Center for Science, Technology, and Congress. The Center is dedicated to providing Congress with timely, objective information on current science and technology issues. For more information, please visit http://www.aaas.org/spp/cstc.

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Founded in 1848, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has worked to advance science for human well-being through its projects, programs, and publications, in the areas of science policy, science education and international scientific cooperation. With 130,000 members from 130 countries and 272 affiliated societies comprising more than 10 million individual members, AAAS is the world's largest federation of scientists. The Association also publishes Science, an editorially independent, multidisciplinary, weekly peer-reviewed journal that ranks among the world's most prestigious scientific journals. AAAS administers EurekAlert! http://www.eurekalert.org, the online news service, featuring the latest discoveries in science and technology.

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