Professor, Ph.D. alum honored for smartphone accessibility research
Saturday, January 10, 2026
In the late 2000s, one touchscreen device was suddenly able to handle a person’s calls, texts, music, email and web navigation. Information School Professor Jacob O. Wobbrock and then-Ph.D. student Shaun Kane recognized that as smartphones revolutionized technology’s place in people’s lives, those with disabilities were at risk of being left behind.Through interviews and a diary study, they studied how people with visual and motor impairments used and adapted mobile devices to match their abilities. Their team’s resulting paper, “Freedom to Roam,” was recently honored wit