Chieko Asakawa
Personal Information
Born: 1958
Country of Birth: Japan
Nationality: Japan
Ethnicity: Asian
Education
Otemon Gakuin University, BA English Literature, 1982; University of Tokyo, PhD in Engineering, 2004
Professional Life
Field of Study: Computer Science; Accessibility
Institution/Corporation: IBM
Degrees & Memberships: 2017, U.S.National Academy of Engineering, International Fellow
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 2003, Women in Technology International Hall of Fame; 2009 & 2013, IBM Fellow; 2011, Women of Vision Award, Anita Borg Institute for Women & Technology; 2013, Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon, Japanese Government; 2013, ACM SIGACCESS Impact Award; 2019, National Inventors Hall of Fame; 2019, Inventor of the Year Award, IPO Education Foundation
Achievements: Home Page Reader; NavCog
Began losing her sight at age 11 after injuring her optic nerve; completely blind by 14
Developed Netscape browser plug-in, the IBM Home Reader; it is the most widely used web-to-speech system available
Has developed a word processor for Braille documents, a digital library for Braille documents, an app for improving accessibility of streaming services, & a system that enables sighted web designers to experience the web as blind people do
Is working on a suitcase robot to help blind people navigate through complicated terrain; Holds 21 patents