Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Planet UTSA: Making eclipses accessible to those with impaired vision through the LightSound project

Episode 3

LightSound devices convert light into sound to make eclipses more accessible.

When the moon takes its place between Earth and the sun, completely blocking the sun’s face, a total solar eclipse will be visible in certain spots of North America on Monday, April 8. UTSA students and faculty members are working on LightSound devices, sonification tools that convert light into sound to make solar eclipses more accessible. Their hope is that people with no vision and low vision will be able to enjoy this incredible event.

Joining us in the podcast studio this week is Lindsay Fuller, UTSA eclipse project manager and a lecturer in the UTSA Department of Physics and Astronomy. Fuller chats with UTSA’s John Elizondo about The LightSound Project and shares how LightSound devices apply sounds to the intensity of light as the moon slowly covers the sun.

The UTSA Office of University Strategic Communications demonstrates UTSA’s commitment to research, career readiness and economic development through compelling, multimedia storytelling. Its Planet UTSA podcast is one of several projects in the Eclipse 2024 initiative, which will include a UTSA Today news series about the impact of the eclipse and a weekly op-ed series featuring faculty experts running in the San Antonio Express-News leading up to the April 8 event. Both series will run on Mondays. Check out Sombrilla Magazine to learn more about how UTSA has emerged at the forefront of illuminating projects solving the grand challenges of space exploration.

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UTSA Today is produced by University Strategic Communications,
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of The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu.


UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.

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The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.

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UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .

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The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.