Three TAP employees win awards, recognition from TDI and HLAA

Vogler and Kozma-Spytek Win Awards

Dr. Christian Vogler, Norman Williams, ’91, and Linda Kozma-Spytek, from Gallaudet’s Technology Access Program (TAP), won awards this summer from Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc (TDI) and the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA).

Vogler, TAP director, accepted the Andrew Saks Engineering Award from TDI on July 29, 2017, which recognizes outstanding contributions to improving accessibility in telecommunications through efforts in design, electronics, or engineering. Vogler and his team played a pivotal role in the transition from TTYs to Real-Time Text in 2016, working closely with consumer leaders on discovering ways of making emergency calls without relying on TTYs.

“I am humbled and honored to receive this award, sharing today with people I worked with for the past six years,” said Vogler during his acceptance speech. “This award is not only about me – it is about an immense collaborative effort that has been in the making for decades. I especially want to thank my colleagues at AT&T who reached out to us and championed RTT at a key moment. I want to thank everyone from TAP, TDI, HLAA, and other agencies, for their help and their mentorship.”
Photo courtesy of TDI.

Williams, TAP senior research engineer, also received the Andrew Saks Engineering Award. Also, he was recognized by TDI for more than 25 years of contributions in accessibility engineering, particularly in areas of text and video telecommunications.

TDI recognized the work Williams took part in during the 1990s with engineering and writing various applications, including Futura-TTY, a TTY software for PCs. Williams worked with the Cellular Telecommunication Industry Association to ensure TTYs were compatible with cellular phones. More recently, Williams developed a software prototype for faster text chat, adopted in AOL Instant Messenger, which ensures real-time instant messaging.
Photo courtesy of TDI.