Valerie Morash

Postdoctoral Researcher

SKERI

PhD in Psychology, University of California, Berkeley MA in Statistics, University of California, Berkeley MEng in Electrical Engineering, MIT BS in Electrical Engineering, MIT BS in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT

Val’s research focused on haptic perception, in individuals with and without vision. She also studied accessibility for people with visual impairments. Her underlying interest was in how human cognition and knowledge is shaped by the senses.

Links:

Personal Website

Mentorship Period:
January 2013 - January 2017

Publications

  • Journal Articles
  • Conference Papers

Mentors

Collaborators

  • Internal
Joshua Miele

Joshua Miele

PublicationsMentorsTraineesCollaboratorsProjects Publications Journal ArticlesConference Papers Mentors Trainees Past Collaborators Internal Projects

James Coughlan

James Coughlan

PublicationsProjectsLabsCentersCollaboratorsTrainees Publications Journal ArticlesConference PapersPresentations/PostersOther Publications Projects Labs Centers Collaborators InternalExternal Trainees CurrentPast

Projects

Tactile Graphics Helper (TGH) Icon showing a person's finger pointing to a tactile graphic that includes braille text

Tactile Graphics Helper (TGH)

Tactile graphics use raised lines, textures, and elevations to provide individuals with visual impairments access to graphical materials through touch. Tactile graphics are particularly important for students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, where educational content is often

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Completed
  • L to R: Huiying Shen, Ali Cheraghi, Brandon Biggs, James Coughlan, Charity Pitcher-Cooper, Giovanni Fusco
    Coughlan Lab
    Principal Investigator:
    The goal of our laboratory is to develop and test assistive technology for blind and visually impaired persons that is enabled by computer vision and other sensor technologies.
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  • Graphic of lines of braille with finger trace trajectory superimposed over braille
    Completed
    Regressions in Braille Reading
    This project explores regressions (movements to re-read text) in braille reading. The image on the right plots the braille reading finger movements in blue and regressions in black.
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  • Icon showing a person's finger pointing to a tactile graphic that includes braille text
    Completed
    Tactile Graphics Helper (TGH)
    Tactile graphics use raised lines, textures, and elevations to provide individuals with visual impairments access to graphical materials through touch. Tactile graphics are particularly important for students in science, technology,...
    Read More

Sheffield, R. M., D’Andrea, F. M., Morash, V. S., & Chatfield, S. . (2022). How Many Braille Readers? Policy, Politics, and Perception. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 1-12. 10.1177/0145482X211071125 (Original work published 2022)

Lei, D. ., Stepien, N. N., Morash, V. S., & Mackeben, M. . (2019). Effect of modulating braille dot height on reading regressions. PLOS ONE, 14, 1-17. 10.1371/journal.pone.0214799 (Original work published 2019)

Alfaro, A. U., Morash, V. S., Lei, D. ., & Orel-Bixler, D. . (2018). Joint engagement in infants and its relationship to their visual impairment measurements. Infant Behavior and Development, 50, 311-323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.05.010

Morash, V. S., Siu, Y.-T. ., Miele, J. ., Hasty, L. ., & Landau, S. . (2015). Guiding novice web workers in making image descriptions using templates. ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS), 7, 12. (Original work published 2015)

Morash, V. S., Pensky, A. E. C., Tseng, S. T., & Miele, J. . (2014). Effects of using multiple hands and fingers on haptic performance in individuals who are blind. Perception, 43, 569–588. (Original work published 2014)

Morash, V. S., Pensky, A. E. C., & Miele, J. . (2013). Effects of using multiple hands and fingers on haptic performance. Perception, 42, 759–777. (Original work published 2013)