John Neiss
Grew up in North Dakota. NTID/RIT Alumni ‘09 in Electrical Engineer Technology.
Andrés García
A Deaf technologist specializing in application development for mobile devices with more than 5+ years of experience. See more in https://link.tech-andgar.me/linkedin
Kim Lucas
Native of Guatemala
Alumni of Florida School for the Deaf and Gallaudet University in Computer Science (Bachelors) and Educational Technology (Masters)
Head coach for Robotics and Drones
Sunday David Ubur
I am currently a third year PhD student in computer science at Virginia Tech. I also serve the department as a teaching assistant, and my advisor as a research assistant.
My research boarders around enhancing emotional expression such as facial, voice and body language gestures in captioning interfaces.
Aside academics, I enjoy traveling, attending conferences, and when not working I enjoy hitting the gym.
Rita Owens
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/rita-owens-keeper-of-nasas-digital-knowledge/
David Parker
- Who am I – I am a Deaf person and I use Auslan (Australian Sign Language) to communicate. I am self managed via the NDIS and I can request for an Auslan interpreter.
- Background – By training and profession, I’m an electrical engineer but I work as a community manager / technical writer. I’ve tried over the years to learn a little about a lot of things. I sometimes envy the great people of the Renaissance especially Leonardo Da Vinci who had a very real possibility of learning a large fraction of all human knowledge. But when I think of all we have achieved since then and I know I have the better deal.
- My motto – “Karma: do good to others that others can do good to you”
- Favorite quotes- “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” — Albert Einstein. “Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself.” — Richard Feynman “For my part, I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream.” — Vincent van Gogh
- My main interests – Purple, The Phantom comics, science fiction, science, technology, road cycling, web development, digital systems, software engineering, travelling and camping, family tree research, genetics, Auslan, relaxing with quality red wine and a good movie, gardening and especially growing tulips and finally egyptology.
Johanna Lucht
Johanna was born in Germany and was discovered to be deaf at the age of 3. She graduated from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science in May 2014. She had an internship at Armstrong Flight Research Center in summer 2013 and was hired as a full-time engineer in June 2014. As an aerospace flight systems engineer, she has performed several roles such as system integration engineer for SubsoniC Research Aircraft Testbed (SCRAT) project on Gulfstream III 804 maintaining/working with the instrumentation systems and as a software developer for developing and testing the Cruise Motor Controller (CMC) software and several Graphical User Interface (GUI) test tools for the Ground Support Equipment (GSE) on X-57 Maxwell. She has supported several small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) activities. She currently works on X-59, NASA’s quiet supersonic X-plane. Her duty is to, in a nutshell, research, design, develop, code, test, maintain, evaluate, and operate aircraft systems while working with the team to solve challenges. On April 4, 2017, Johanna became the first deaf engineer to carry out an active role in a NASA control center during a crewed research flight. During her daily life she uses her sense of humor whenever possible and in her spare time she crochets, quilts, makes jewelries, plays video games, walks outdoors, bakes sweets occasionally to feed her coworkers, and hangs out with friends and family.
Ruby McGrath
CODA Chemical Engineer
Farah Piatek, EIT, MSCE, BArch
Farah, a skilled structural engineer and architect, brings years of expertise to her profession. As a project architect in Chicagoland, she designed mixed-use residential and commercial buildings, ensuring permit approvals for construction. Farah’s structural engineering experience spans precast, post-tension, and her current focus on steel/concrete analysis and design.
A graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) with a Bachelor’s in Architecture, the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) with a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering with Emphasis in Structural Engineering, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) with a Master’s in Structural Engineering, Farah aspires to attain a structural engineer license.
Dr. Erum Razvi
Dr. Erum Razvi joined Ontario Genomics in 2023. In her current role, Erum supports the implementation of strategic initiatives with the goal of applying genomics-based solutions to bolster key sectors of the Ontario economy. Erum is the main point of contact for funded projects and works with leading academics and partner organizations to advance funding, foster relationships, and enhance project outcomes.
During her 10+ years in the infectious disease space, Erum has experience in multidisciplinary areas such as drug discovery, carbohydrate chemistry, X-ray crystallography, biophysical methods, and basic biology research leading to several high impact publications. Erum served as the Communications Officer and Chair for the GlycoNet Trainee Executive Committee where she wrote monthly newsletters, led a team of 7 scientists across Canada to understand and endorse the voices of trainees to key opinion leaders, established professional development opportunities, and advocated for infectious disease research alongside the Chief Science Advisor of Canada. Prior to joining Ontario Genomics, Erum was a postdoctoral fellow working on optimizing the isolation of bacterial exopolysaccharides.
Erum has a B.Sc. in Health Science from Wilfrid Laurier University, Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Toronto, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario.
