Two Meyerhoff Scholars Program alumnae, Kavita Krishnaswamy, M13, ’07, mathematics, and Tabassum Majid, M18, M.A. ’18, aging studies, ’10, interdisciplinary studies, have been included in the Baltimore Sun‘s “25 Women to Watch in 2018” annual listing.
Current Ph.D. student Kavita Krishnaswamy, who through her work as a roboticist focuses on giving people with severe disabilities greater independence, has invented voice command interfaces, and is working on another that responds to eye movement. Krishnaswamy, who lives with spinal muscular atrophy, a progressive disorder that severely limits her movement below the neck, works from home via a telepresence device, and will attend the 2018 Heidelberg Laureate Forum. “Life is always beautiful,” Krishnaswamy tells the Sun. “Instead of complaining, people should remember to do something to make it better.”
Through her work as executive director at Integrace Institute, Tabassum Majid brings an interdisciplinary approach to the future of aging, and the needs of an increasingly diverse demographic. Integrace was featured in the film “Every Three Seconds” with 23 other organizations from around the world for its work on Alzheimer’s disease prevention. “We are looking at who’s the next generation of customers and seniors,” Majid tells the Sun. “And that’s how we get that first step onto the global stage. The documentary was just the beginning in my opinion.”
The “25 Women to Watch in 2018” piece features “leading voices in business, activism, research and more” from a range of backgrounds and industries, the Sun writes. The awardees will be featured in a special supplement on Sunday, October 14.
Learn more about the Meyerhoff Scholars Program here.
