Strong pitch (Science + Technology)

Story: How accessible are UI/UX design tools? Not very. People with vision
impairments could contribute to and improve technology design, but popular
design tools aren’t currently accessible to them through their screen readers.
As accessibility researchers, we’ll break down the prototyping tool landscape
and discuss ways to improve it.
Significance: Few technology designers are blind/low vision. Lack of
representation is problematic, when many user interfaces (smartphone apps)
already aren’t accessible to blind people. Designers use UI/UX prototyping
tools to create mock-ups of digital interface designs, to test before coding.
However, these tools are inaccessible by screen reader technologies used by
blind people to access screen elements.
Key points: We’ll evaluate 4 popular prototyping tools and how they work with
2 screen readers. We have comparison charts. We’ll identify which tools are
most inaccessible and where to make improvements. Inaccessible UI/UX
prototyping leads to inaccessible design. Making these tools accessible could
empower blind technology designers.

Story: My story explores what happened to the Denver unhoused community
through the year 2020 as COVID-19 hit. I explore the locational strategies and
spatial patterns of the community in relation to the resources of the city core.
Significance: The population experiencing homelessness in Denver increased by
nearly 15% from 2018 to 2019. This trend, combined with the SARS-CoV-2
pandemic of 2020, led to a distinct crisis for unhoused communities.
Previous research addressed several aspects of COVID-19 and homelessness:
(1) Unhoused individuals are more vulnerable to pandemics, (2) encampments
may be safer than shelters in terms of COVID-19 spread, and (3) displacement
of encampments has significant impacts upon the health of unhoused
individuals. However, existing literature does not include GIS data of
encampments, shelters, services, and geographic movement.
Key Points
I have spent the last seven months on this research, and Denver has continued
to enforce inhumane homeless legislation. If this research were more
widespread, it could contribute to a change in policy.
Strong pitch (Politics + Society)

Story: Ansel Adams is famous for his black-and-white photographs of America’s
wilderness. His signature style is revered and often imitated. How did he learn that
style? Adams dropped out of conventional schooling as a child and was a selftaught photographer, but his work as a commercial photographer informed his
famous style.
Significance: We assume that talented people are just innately talented, but Adams
leveraged his experiences into future success, building from a childhood amateur
(making snapshots in Yosemite Valley on vacation with his parents) into one of the
most recognizable photographers of the 20th century. He not only learned from
other art undertakings; his experience as a commercial photographer changed the
way he approached the medium and allowed him to be more effective in his
artwork. This ability to transfer experience, skills and knowledge seems widely
applicable to how Americans think about their own lives, skills and careers.
Key Points: I am about to publish a book on Adams, presenting new research.
Adams has a controlling trust, which means little research about him is published
(the last scholarly book came out in 2002). For such a beloved, familiar and
accessible cultural icon, there is remarkably little available. I am the chief curator at
the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, and Adams’s
archive is here. In addition to the release of my book (Feb. 2020), there is the
anniversary of his birth (February 20, 1902).
Strong pitch (Arts + Culture)

Strong pitch (Health + Medicine)
Story: What is the potential side effect of the J&J vaccine for COVID-
19? The side effect is a blood clot in the veins that drain blood from
the brain. It is called central venous sinus thrombosis (CVST).
Significance: How would I suspect that I have this? The CDC and FDA
are recommending that people who have received the J&J vaccine
within the last 3 weeks who develop severe headache, abdominal
pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath should contact their health care
provider.
Key Points: A similar and rare problem of blood clotting with low
platelets in the cerebral venous sinus and also in the abdominal veins
and arteries has been seen with the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-
19 vaccine used in Europe (182 cases in 190 million doses). The
European Medicines Agency (EMA) investigated this and concluded
that CVST with low platelets be listed as a possible “very rare side
effect” of the vaccine.

Strong pitch (Environment + Energy)

Story: Llamas have gotten recent press as potentially contributing antibodies
for COVID-19 cures and also for becoming the most popular animal items at
toy conventions. What this new media coverage leaves out is the history of
how Andean peoples have domesticated, used and remade the llama over
centuries.
Significance: Writing the cultural contributions of Andean people out of the
story of llama’s popularity and utility greatly diminishes the contributions
South Americans have made to modern science, technology and culture. By
contrast, recognizing and celebrating the long and intertwined history of
llamas and their kin provides insight into the boundaries between wild and
domesticated species.
Key points: Two New York Times articles in under a month indicate editorial
and popular interest. I’ve published on the wild llama cousin, the vicuna, and
have an animal history project underway on the “Llama Diaspora.”
Author Details: Professor of History and Director of Environmental Studies
Program
Pitch that needs work

Story
Is racial equity a conservative or a liberal concern?
Significance
Although conservatives and liberals disagree about racial inequity,
they should agree on five important truths.
Timeliness: Timeless
Key Points
Racial inequity is in the news but is an ongoing concern. I taught a
course titled “Race and Justice.” The article is written: 2968 words
Story: Ranking of people, schools, products, countries and just about everything
else is part of our daily life. We are in a paradoxical relationship with ranking:
’’Ranking is good because it is informative and objective; ranking is bad because it
is biased and subjective, and occasionally, even manipulated.”
Significance: Everybody with whom I have talked in the last several years has
seemed to agree that the topic of ranking is hot. A ranking procedure may reflect
either the reality or the illusion of objectivity. In addition, ranking might be the
subject of manipulation.
Objectivity attempts to represent the outside world without bias or
presuppositions, while subjectivity results from personal cognition or preferences.
While making objective rankings sounds like an appealing goal, there are at least
two different reasons why we may not have objectivity: ignorance and
manipulation. We should learn how to navigate between objectivity and
subjectivity.
Key Points: Recently a dozen of articles in The Conversation discussed ranking, the
social game we all play. Stories about the problems of ranking of colleges and
universities, political candidates, livable cities, artists and tennis players were
given. In this article, I will reanalyze these stories from the perspective of my recent
book.
Pitch that needs work

Pitch that needs work

Story
The Passion of Britney Spears. From Southern Baptist to
Kabbalah to possibly Catholicism, Britney Spears’ religious life
speaks to her struggles, her faith, and her fandom.
Significance
Two weeks ago, she caused a social media firestorm when she
announced she was converting to Catholicism (in a now-deleted
post). This inspired me to look into her religious biography, and I
wrote a piece tracing her story from Southern Baptist to modern
Kabbalah, to even looking into Hinduism, and now maybe
Catholicism. It covers the moral panic around her performative
sexuality, but also the praise she got for being a virgin.
Pitch that needs work

Story
It turns out “Yoopers” will save money if Line 5 closes down if they invest in
heat pumps, rather than freeze to death as alarmists claim. A new study
shows that solar photovotaics and heat pumps provide lower cost heat to
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (the UP) than propane currently provides.
Significance
Many Yoopers fear catastrophic heating prices if Line 5 closes. Line 5 is a
pipeline system carrying propane from Canada across Michigan’s upper
and lower peninsulas. The pipeline crosses the Straits of Mackinac, leading
to concerns about a potential oil spill from the 65-year-old pipeline.
Currently, there is an huge debate about Michigan’s attempt to close Line
5 permanently. Shutting down the pipeline could have significant impacts
on those living in the UP – that often are remote and use propane for
heating. The Michigan government is considering subsidies for propane
transport by train/truck as potential solutions.
Pitch that needs work

Story: This pitch explains Thucydides’ Trap and argues that there are
at least two ways to avoid Sino-American war.
Significance: Graham Allison has made the point that China’s rise is a
story affecting our individual fates because in the end the question of
whether a new world order will be born or the status quo preserved is
less important than the question of whether the outcome will be
determined peacefully or whether China and America are destined for
war.
Timeliness: Timeless
Key Points: First, based on the diplomacy and leadership of the US
and China, Kevin Rudd’s “constructive realism” and Jin Canrong’s
“Chess war” might be a solution to avoid military conflict. Second, the
institutional “Soft Balancing” of a third party to the U.S. or China is
another.