{"id":91672,"date":"2018-10-31T11:00:14","date_gmt":"2018-10-31T15:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=91672"},"modified":"2019-07-05T12:48:32","modified_gmt":"2019-07-05T16:48:32","slug":"ucf-physics-alum-highlights-importance-workplace-accessibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-physics-alum-highlights-importance-workplace-accessibility\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Physics Alum Highlights the Importance of Workplace Accessibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many college graduates, finding a job within their field can seem just as daunting as earning a degree. But that task can be even more difficult for people with disabilities, considering last year\u2019s unemployment rate for the group (9.2 percent) was more than twice the rate of those with no disabilities (4.2 percent), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n

The first step to bridging this gap often starts with providing accessibility in its many forms to those who need it. Physicist Michael Lodge \u201918PhD<\/strong>, who has used a wheelchair since he was 8 years old and is now a nanotechnology research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, is just one example of the difference that accessibility can make.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy should someone be excluded from a tradition as old as humanity itself simply because they\u2019re disabled?\u201d \u2013 Michael Lodge \u201918PhD<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cScience is fundamental to the pursuit of knowledge. It is how we have advanced as a species,\u201d Lodge says. \u201cWhy should someone be excluded from a tradition as old as humanity itself simply because they\u2019re disabled?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lodge was left paraplegic as a child after undergoing surgery to remove a tumor embedded in his spine. Since then, the Sanford native has used a wheelchair to navigate the world. While Lodge says he has learned to adapt to the challenges he faces, he encountered a major obstacle as he began to do experimental research.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a blow to the ego when your disability curtails your options, however it\u2019s downright devastating when your disability is the sole thing preventing you from seizing a great opportunity that has been handed to you,\u201d Lodge says.<\/p>\n

Gaining Experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n

After coming to UCF in 2007, Lodge began working as a graduate student in Professor of Physics<\/a> Masahiro Ishigami\u2019s lab. In order to make sure Lodge could make use of the space, Ishigami worked with him to make the lab more accessible by moving things to a reachable distance and allow more room for the wheelchair\u2019s movements. Improving accessibility for Lodge came naturally to Ishigami, as his father was a medical specialist who provides rehabilitation to patients who have been disabled by injuries, diseases, conditions or disorders.  The American Disability Act defines a disability as \u201ca physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, this is something we have to solve; it\u2019s something I was familiar with. For me, he was just another person.\u201d \u2013 Professor of Physics Masahiro Ishigami<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI use to tell Mike my weakness is I can\u2019t actually see that he\u2019s different from anyone else,\u201d Ishigami says. \u201cFor some people this is an insurmountable problem. For me, this is something we have to solve; it\u2019s something I was familiar with. For me, he was just another person.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lodge immediately demonstrated tremendous talent, Ishigami says. Within a few months he was able to teach himself to create graphene, a single-atom layer of graphite that is very difficult to make. Ishigami then arranged for him to participate in other research projects, but the lack of accessibility in other labs prevented Lodge from gaining experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe realized at that point if he\u2019s going to have a career in [the scientific field], he\u2019s going to have to engineer solutions so that he can improve accessibility himself,\u201d Ishigami says.<\/p>\n

Engineering Solutions<\/strong><\/h2>\n