How a Blind Astronomer Found a way to Hear the Stars

Today's post features a TED talk by Wanda Díaz Merced. Wanda's research focuses on gamma ray bursts and the development of sonification techniques for analyzing and interpreting data. She is a fellow with the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development at the South African Astronomical Observatory; they are working on programs to bring astronomical data to students at the Athlone School for the Blind. Wanda is co-chair of the AAS Working Group on Accessibility and Disability.

From Ted.com: Wanda Díaz Merced studies the light emitted by gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic events in the universe. When she lost her sight and was left without a way to do her science, she had a revelatory insight: the light curves she could no longer see could be translated into sound. Through sonification, she regained mastery over her work, and now she's advocating for a more inclusive scientific community. "Science is for everyone," she says. "It has to be available to everyone, because we are all natural explorers."

The video runs about 11 minutes and captioning is available; we have included a transcript of her talk after the jump.