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Presenting the tactile periodic table

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 9, pages 1–2 (2025)Cite this article

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Through the collaboration of two members of the ACS Committee on Chemists with Disabilities, a prototype Braille periodic table has been created. This project is part of a wider goal of making chemistry accessible to all.

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Fig. 1: The tactile periodic table.

References

  1. Teaching Chemistry to Students with Disabilities (eds Redden, P. et al.) 5th edn (ACS, 2023); https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/about/governance/committees/cwd/tcswd-5th-edition.pdf.

  2. Blind scientist tools. monaminkara.com (2024); https://monaminkara.com/blind-scientist-tools/.

  3. Swell form machine. American Thermoform (2024); https://americanthermoform.com/product/swell-form-graphics-ii-machine/.

  4. PIAF tactile embosser. HumanWear (2024); https://store.humanware.com/hus/piaf-picture-in-a-flash-tactile-graphic-maker.html.

  5. Dulay, M. T. Committee on Chemists with Disabilities debuts accessible periodic table. C&EN (14 September 2019); https://cen.acs.org/acs-news/meetings/Committee-Chemists-Disabilities-debuts-accessible/97/i36.

  6. Sears think[box]. Case Western Reserve University (2024); https://case.edu/thinkbox/.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support for this project from the American Chemical Society through the Committee on Chemists with Disabilities and the Akron local section.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Olon USA LLC, Concord, OH, USA

    Michael Fricke

  2. College of Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

    Mona Minkara

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  1. Michael Fricke
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  2. Mona Minkara
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Correspondence to Michael Fricke or Mona Minkara.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Fricke, M., Minkara, M. Presenting the tactile periodic table. Nat Rev Chem 9, 1–2 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-024-00675-2

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