This story is featured in the Fall 2013 issue of Showcase: The Knowledge Mobilization Edition. View the complete publication at www.trentu.ca/showcase

One Trent student’s journey to pursue a degree in the field of study he loves most, despite the restrictions of a personal disability, is helping to change the landscape of learning for future students.

Ryan Cole, who has been legally blind since birth, but has limited vision, came to Trent four years ago to study Chemical Physics. He chose Trent largely because the contacts he made early at the University assured him they could find ways to assist him in his educational pursuit.

As a student entering university with an impressive 95% average, Mr. Cole was welcome to attend whichever school he chose, but the larger universities who boasted about their top science and math programs all gave him the same response: “They told me I was welcome to come, but that they didn’t really know how to deal with a student who is legally blind who wants to study science,” Mr. Cole recalls, remarking on the rarity of students with disabilities pursuing degrees in the sciences. He notes there is often a tendency to steer them into the arts and social sciences. “There isn’t really a braille option for quantum mechanics,” Mr. Cole quips.

A subsequent survey conducted by Professor Emeritus Dr. Alan Slavin of the Trent Physics Department, Mr. Cole’s first-year instructor, also revealed how unique Mr. Cole’s situation is. According to the survey, there has been only one other legally blind student has studied university physics in Canada in the last 12 years.

“Like other universities, Trent didn’t directly know how to accommodate for my needs, but unlike the other universities, Trent’s response was: ‘We’ll do whatever it takes,’” Mr. Cole says. “It was like a breath of fresh air.”

That willingness to “do whatever it takes” has led to a world of new opportunity for Mr. Cole at Trent. Support, guidance and funding from the Student Accessibility Services Office has translated into the discovery, purchase and application of new technology that has allowed Mr. Cole to take his own notes as well as conduct vital lab work on his own, both for the first time.

Technological Breakthrough

When Mr. Cole decided to major in Chemical Physics, it was imperative for him to conduct the lab work himself. Having already experimented with a variety of aids, including an unsuccessful braille translation of a first-year calculus textbook and the more successful acquisition of a projector that made the text in books and on exams large enough for him to read, Ryan carried out an intensive search for new piece of technology that would open up a new world of opportunity.

Mr. Cole describes the high resolution camera that acts as a powerful electronic magnifier, which he found online in his second year and purchased through a Bursary for Students with Disabilities, as “quite possibly, my favourite piece of equipment ever.” The camera, which is mounted on a mobile articulating arm and works in conjunction with a large monitor, allows Mr. Cole to keep his hands free to take notes and undertake lab work.

“My strong suit has always been theoretical work; it had to be. So until my second year of university, I had never done any solo lab work,” Mr. Cole says, explaining how he always had a seeing lab partner to assist him. “But to get a degree in Chemical Physics, I really needed to be able to do certain tasks and lab work on my own. I had a lack of experience with experimental work but this technology opened up a whole new world for me.”

Taking Research to the Next Level

Before and after the acquisition of the new equipment, Mr. Cole has excelled in his courses at Trent, winning most of the top academic prizes in his program. In addition to receiving free tuition by achieving an average of over 90% each year, Mr. Cole has also been awarded the Lodge Physics Scholarship two years in a row for attaining the highest average in his year in the program, as well as the R.B. Johnson Prize for quantum mechanics, the Breukelaar Prize for Laboratory Proficiency in Physics, the Peterborough Professional Engineers Wives’ Prize, and the LEC Fellows Prize.

Most recently, Mr. Cole was awarded a prestigious Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), which allowed him to work this past summer alongside Trent’s Canada Research Chair in Physics of Biomaterials, Dr. Aaron Slepkov. With Professor Slepkov, Mr. Cole is working to set up a new state-of-the-art laser lab at Trent which will be devoted to characterizing and imaging biomaterials.

Speaking of Mr. Cole and his work, Prof. Slepkov says: “What is special about Ryan’s USRA is that he had not considered applying for one before his fourth year because he didn’t envision himself working in a research lab. He indicated to me that he thought it would be inaccessible to him and that possibly professors wouldn’t see him as someone who could/ or should do research. Working with Ryan has changed my expectations for what an inexperienced but engaged summer student can accomplish.”

Spreading the Word

Mr. Cole and Professor Slavin are now working to spread the word about what this enabling piece of technology can do for other potential students in Mr. Cole’s situation. This past summer, the pair published a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, focused on the camera and how it is being used in university context for a student in sciences.

“I get annoyed with the social push for blind people not to pursue study in math and science. It’s a real loss.” Mr. Cole says. “Most blind students don’t know this technology exists. We want to spread the word so others can know about the opportunities available.

“You have to do what you love,” he adds, “Sometimes it’s hard. It was hard for a legally blind person who loves Chemical Physics, but you have to fight for it.”