WANDA DÍAZ- MERCED
Making astronomy accessible.
Astrophysicist Wanda Díaz Merced (1982, Puerto Rico) began to see spots when she was an undergraduate student at the university in Puerto Rico.
Diabetic retinopathy would soon deprive her of vision altogether, but dshe was determined not to change her chosen career.
A NASA internship gave Díaz-Merced the opportunity to work with a method called data sonification. This translated the satellite information from stars that she was studying into sound waves, instead of visual graphs- on which astronomers usually rely heavily.
She would go on to develop this software further, making it possible for astrophysicists to more accurately interpret their data, and making the field accessible to a range of researchers who had previously been excluded.
Díaz-Merced currently works with the South African Office of Astronomy for Development, opening up the world of astronomy to a generation of blind students.
" For my field of astronomy which I really love I want no segregation" she told." I want people to have equal opportunities to display their talents".
GALEGO
Facendo accesible a astronomía.
A astrofísica Wanda Díaz-Merced (Porto Rico, 1982) comezou a ver manchas cando era estudante universitaria na universidade de Porto Rico.
A retinopatía diabética roubaríalle a visión, pero ela decidiu seguir no seu campo de estudo.
Unha estancia na NASA deulle a oportunidade de traballar cun método chamado sonificación de datos. Este traducía a información do satélite das estrelas que estaba estudando en ondas sonoras, en vez de gráficas visuais, nas que se apoian tanto os astrónomos.
Ela desenvolveu máis este software, facendo que os astrofísicos puideran interpretar os datos de forma máis precisa, e facendo accesible o campo a un grupo de investigadores que antes foran excluídos.
Díaz-Merced traballa actualmente na sudafricana Oficina de astronomía para o Desenvolvemento, abrindo o mundo da astronomía a unha xeración de estudantes cegos.
" Non quero segregación no meu campo tan querido da astronomía", comentou. "Quero igualdade de oportunidades para que a xente poida amosar os seus talentos".
Foto: el pais.com
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