Chieko Asakawa
Chieko Asakawa | |
|---|---|
| Born | Osaka, Japan |
| Occupation(s) | Computer scientist, researcher |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Known for | IBM Home Page Reader, accessibility technology |
| Notable work | IBM Home Page Reader, Netscape browser extension for web-to-speech |
is a visually impaired Japanese computer scientist recognized for her pioneering efforts at IBM Research – Tokyo in the field of accessibility. She is credited with creating the Netscape browser extension, the IBM Home Page Reader, which grew to become the leading web-to-speech technology. Asakawa's groundbreaking contributions have earned her multiple accolades from both industry and governmental organizations.
Education and career
Originally sighted, Asakawa lost her vision entirely by the age of fourteen due to an injury. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in English literature from Otemon Gakuin University in Osaka in 1982. Subsequently, she completed a specialized two-year programming course tailored for visually impaired individuals, utilizing Optacon devices. Her initial engagement with IBM Research began as a temporary position in 1984, transitioning to a permanent researcher role by 1985. In 2004, she earned a doctorate in engineering from the University of Tokyo.
Contributions
Asakawa’s work encompasses the creation of a word processor and a digital library specifically designed for Braille materials, as well as an application aimed at improving accessibility for streaming services. She developed a Netscape plug-in that converts textual content into speech, facilitating easier internet use for those with visual impairments. Additionally, she designed a tool that allows sighted web developers to experience websites as blind users do. This browser extension eventually evolved into the 1997 IBM product known as the IBM Home Page Reader, which became the dominant web-to-speech system within five years.
Her recent projects focus on enabling accessible control over multimedia content, adapting to technological and societal shifts to support longer working lives for older adults, and advancing technologies that enhance navigation and interaction with the physical environment for blind individuals. Most notably, she developed a compact suitcase robot intended to assist visually impaired people in traversing challenging terrains.
Awards and honors
In 2003, Asakawa was inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame. She achieved the distinction of becoming an IBM Fellow, IBM’s most prestigious employee award, in 2009—marking her as the fifth Japanese recipient and the first Japanese woman to earn this honor. The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology presented her with the Women of Vision Award in 2011. Asakawa delivered the keynote address at the Fourth International Conference on Software Development for Enhancing Accessibility and Fighting Info-exclusion (DSAIE 2012). The Japanese government bestowed upon her the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon in 2013. That same year, a paper she co-wrote with Takashi Itoh in 1998 on web interfaces for blind users received the ACM SIGACCESS Impact Award.
In 2017, she was elected as an international member of the US National Academy of Engineering in recognition of her advancements in technologies that enable digital access for visually impaired individuals. In 2022, Asakawa was named a member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
External links
- Living people
- Japanese computer scientists
- Japanese women computer scientists
- IBM Fellows
- Blind scholars and academics
- Japanese blind individuals
- University of Tokyo alumni
- Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon
- Foreign associates of the National Academy of Engineering
- Scientists from Osaka
- 20th-century Japanese engineers
- 20th-century women engineers
- 21st-century Japanese engineers
- 21st-century women engineers
- Scientists with disabilities
- Scientists from Osaka Prefecture
- Achievement Award Recipients of the Society of Women Engineers