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Perkins Spotlight:
Dr. Amy Bower, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
(Continued from Perkins Insight eNews)
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Dr. Amy Bower showing students around the Pilot House. (Photo: Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole |
“Our lives as children revolved a lot around outdoor activities,” Bower recalls. “Boating, fishing, visits to the shore. I just always liked being around the ocean.”
Her fascination with the water was nurtured by her mother, who Bower describes as a very curious person who loves the outdoors. In high school, Bower excelled in math and science and developed a passion for physics.
While studying physics at Tufts University, she discovered a program called SEA Semester offered by SEA Education Association at Woods Hole.
“It was a semester about everything ocean - science, literature history. We spent six weeks in the classroom and then six weeks at sea on a research schooner … It was perfect,” Bower said.
“That’s when I found out there was a field where I could match together the interest in physics and math and oceanography,” says Bower, who studies ocean currents and their impact on climate change.
Bower earned her PhD at University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography. But it was at this stage in her career path that Bower made a troubling discovery. During a routine eye exam she was diagnosed with a juvenile form of macular degeneration.
“Here I was all gung ho for this great career and now they’re saying your vision is going to deteriorate and we don’t know how much or how quickly,” Bower recalls.
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Kathy Paterson works with Perkins School students at the Ocean Science Exhibit Center at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. (Photo: Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Insitution.) |
But Bower would soon learn that losing her vision did not have to mean letting go of her dream. A low vision specialist introduced her to magnification devices and adaptive technology that helped her to read and view graphics for her oceanography research.
While participating in Ski for Light, a cross country skiing program for people who are visually impaired, Bower met other young professionals with vision loss and realized what was possible with a little determination and creativity.
Bower uses screen reading software on her computer, which reads aloud text so she can send emails, keep journals at sea, and document research. She also has a CCTV, or video magnifier, that blows up graphics large enough for her to examine.
Today Bower provides inspiration to other aspiring scientists who are visually impaired through a collaborative project with Perkins School for the Blind. OceanInsight offers students who are visually impaired an interactive way to study the ocean, including field trips to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and school visits by Bower and other oceanographers.
At the WHOI exhibit center, students handled whale bones and examined small sea creatures. They also explored the R/V Knorr, the same research vessel Perkins Science Teacher Kate Fraser boarded to join Bower and other oceanographers on an expedition to study Irminger Rings in the Labrador Sea between Canada and Greenland.
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Dr. Bower speaks to a class of Perkins students. |
While out at sea, students in Perkins’ classrooms participated and asked questions about the research via satellite phone calls. Each day of the 10-day expedition, Fraser and Bower recorded audio postcards interviewing crew members, documenting the expedition’s progress, and capturing the sounds of the sea. These recordings were posted to the OceanInsight website to give Perkins students an up to the moment auditory account of the trip.
Bower also made several visits to Perkins’ campus and met with introductory physics and chemistry classes. Students often asked how Bower uses adaptive equipment to do her job, much of which is the same technology Perkins students use in the classroom. For example, Bower recalled one visit when she was setting up a presentation on her computer and JAWS, a screen reading software program, came over the loud speakers.
“The students cheered … it was just something as simple as that, seeing someone who is working in the field and is using JAWS just like them,” Bower said.
Bower uses braille to label files and tactile bumps to help her find things whether she is at sea or at home. Every time she gets aboard a research vessel, she has her laptop and her CCTV. With the help of adaptive tools, Bower is exploring the depths of the ocean and conducting research that will likely have a global impact. Her goal with OceanInsight is to show other students who are visually impaired that careers in the science fields are accessible to them too.
“Learning to be your own advocate is important … I’m really encouraging them to be proactive and get out there no matter what they want to do,” says Bower.
More Resources: Visit Perkins Scout and start searching today.
Meet Scout. Scout is a dog guide who will help you retrieve valuable information and resources as the mascot of a new interactive website presented by Perkins Training & Educational Resources Program. When you visit Perkins Scout, you will find an extensive searchable database of online resources covering all topics related to blindness and visual impairment general information on blindness, help for families with relatives who are visually impaired, resources for educators and professionals, and much more. |
