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  • The Blind Leading the Blind [and lots of others]

    Posted on November 5th, 2009 admin 26 comments

    supaloCary Supalo is a Purdue alumni who is also the founder of a Purdue Research Park affliate company named Independence Science LLC. He is also well toward earning a Ph.D. degree in chemistry; he is also blind.

    “Cary’s Ph.D. thesis project is a National Science Foundation funded project from the Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) where he is developing accessible tools and techniques to assist blind students in performing high school level chemistry laboratory experiments.  Taking widely available lab probes and their software interface and making them accessible via speech output eliminates the traditional passive role of previous generations, i.e., a sighted assistant simply describing and reading data values as they are obtained.  It is his hope that this will encourage blind students to want to study science and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).  He uses a software interface called Logger Pro, which allows a student to use a hub device to which they can plug in multiple lab probes such as thermometers, pH meters, and conductivity detectors, among numerous other tools.  Having these tools coupled with the JAWS screen reader software will allow for blind students to more actively interface with their data collection experience.  This is Cary’s current passion of opening new doors of opportunity for blind students in the chemical sciences.” From here:

    Cary’s new startup, Independence Science LLC hopefully will do just that, help students have more hands-on isexperiences in science laboratories and enable them to fully participate in learning the great subject, science. Wish him the best and take inspiration from his efforts! With a company tagline of “empowering new vision,” what’s to hold him back? Hank

     

    26 responses to “The Blind Leading the Blind [and lots of others]”

    1. Zacheriah Ruggles

      That’s amazing that he doesn’t let his blindness stop him from helping others and from being entreprenuerial. It does seem like in today’s age more and more people with disabilities are trying to help others with the same disability, which is great!

    2. Nathan Ferguson

      This is just amazing, he doesnt let anything stop him from completing his goal. That is some motivation.

    3. Allison Weilbaker

      Wow, what an inspiration. It’s great to see that as long as there is determination and drive, an idea can really make it far

    4. I’m impressed with his drive and his cause. The fact that he is creating new tools to help other people with disabilities and doing so without the help he is trying to provide is simply astounding. It seems like maybe he should go on Shark Tank because his company seems on par with Sawyer Dough.

    5. Caroline Stephenson

      That is really incredible! My grandmother lost her sight really early in her life and it was devastating. She ended up not being able to do a lot of the things she wanted. I couldn’t even imagine having a disability that could hold me back so badly. It is really great that Supalo is doing something to overcome this limitation and helping people in similar situations.

    6. Andrew Rodriguez

      Cary has truly completed amazing feats despite his disability. It is fascinating simply to complete a PHD while blind, let alone to start a company.

    7. Amazing story. Sometimes we think we have it hard, but when you step back and hear a story like this, you truly realize you have nothing to complain about.

    8. This is a touching and amazing story. It really shows that with enough passion anything can be possible. Which is exactly what an entrepreneur needs to be successful.

    9. Marisa Nakajima

      Good for him, he is a very driven man and doesn’t let certain dissablities get in his way of sucess.

    10. That’s absolutely amazing! I feel like it’s so easy to be, blinded, if you will by what others think is a possible outcome in life; however, if you just give yourself purpose and something to live for…who’s to say you can’t do it?

    11. Thats really impressive, I couldn’t imagine obtaining a Ph. D. if I were blind.

    12. This is a very uplifting and inspirational story. He is very determined and does not see obsticles as a negative thing he see’s them as a challenge that he knows he can complete. Very touching story.

    13. This is very inspiring! He is very determined and seems like he has nothing stopping him.

    14. I can only wonder how much passion, drive and determination it takes to achieve all that …especially when you cant see.

    15. That’s pure dedication, devotion and determination towards a goal in life! That’s how motivated all of us must be in order to be really successful in life in true sense.
      I’m totally inspired by his story!

    16. Shawn Tomlinson

      This is a really great story. He is not only following the pattern of doing something he has a passion for but also making a difference. I really hope that this company pans out and he can influence other people with disabilities to know that they can seek futures in whatever field they desire.

    17. Truly truly inspirational. Its great to see someone who is not going to let his disabilities step in the way of his true passions. Not only does he serve as a great role model for those with disabilities but also any entrepreneur in general. It also makes me realize just how lucky I am that I am blessed to not have any physical disabilities.

    18. I have tremendous respect and idolize him. He can accomplish anything when he’s determined.

    19. Wow,,, i didn’t think that people will actually be more motivated to help others even though they face hard times. I really respect what he is doing for others. I wish his company can be successful.

    20. This is cool

    21. That is such an awesome story of this guys life. He has everything against him and yet he accomplished so much

    22. I always like these motivation stories, people working against disadvantages to help people. I wish him the best.

    23. Its truly amazing how much this guy has accomplished in life with such disability. I am proud of his accomplishments and I hope he achieves his goals and succeeds in his endeavors.

    24. Glad to see he uses his disadvantages as avantages, it also sounds like this might have uses for anyone.

    25. Sree Harsha Uddandam

      I think that everyone should learn a lot from him. I should also stop complaining about some silly issues and look for the major areas of life and work towards them…

    26. It is really a great thing when you see people with such a drive to help others to either get an experience they have never had or an experience they want to share with everyone.

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