Assistive Technology Expert Elected to the Sights for Hope Board

By Sights for Hope Team |
Vinod Namboodiri, Ph.D., in a dark suit, navy blue shirt, and blue tie

Vinod Namboordiri, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Community-Driven Assistive Technologies (CDAT) at Lehigh University’s College of Health, was elected this week to the Sights for Hope Board of Directors.

Namboodiri also is the College of Health’s Ellen and Vincent Forlenza ’75 Endowed Chair in Health Innovation and Technology. His focus on advancing solutions for people challenged by vision loss is informed by his own experience living with Retinitis Pigmentosa. The CDAT’s mission is to positively impact the lives of people with disabilities by creating and evaluating assistive technologies.

One of Namboodiri’s key projects is the collaborative MABLE initiative with Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network. The partners are developing an app called MABLE – which stands for Mapping for Accessible Built Environments – that optimizes wayfinding assistance by integrating accessibility information into its digital maps and providing turn-by-turn instructions in real time.

Namboordiri will work as a Sights for Hope board member to encourage Lehigh University student and faculty research on challenges faced by people facing vision loss, identify solutions specific to the greater Lehigh Valley community, and advocate for support at the local, state, and national levels.

Namboodiri also served on the Wichita State University faculty for 15 years. He earned his doctorate in electrical and computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Sights for Hope is a nonprofit organization that empowers people to maximize their potential however they see the world. Its programs and services build capabilities and confidence in people who are blind or have visual impairments, equip children to read in kindergarten, and enrich people’s lives with habits that protect their eyesight. Sights for Hope has proudly served Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley since 1928 and Monroe County since 2003. It is an independent member of the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind (PAB) and the multi-national VisionServe Alliance.

Image: Vinod Namboodiri, Ph.D., in a dark suit, navy blue shirt, and blue tie.