Bern Jordan

Bern Jordan is an Assistant Research Scientist at the University of Maryland’s College of Information Studies (INFO). With a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, his work focuses on accessibility of information and communications technology (ICT), emphasizing cross-disability access to public systems, standards development, and inclusive design. He leads projects like the Maryland Initiative for Digital Accessibility (MIDA) and the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Inclusive ICT (Trace RERC).

His expertise includes kiosk accessibility, auto-personalization software, and accessibility training. He collaborates with federal agencies (e.g., FCC, NIH, NIST) and organizations like the Smithsonian and FDIC to advance accessibility policies and technologies. Recent work includes improving at-home test accessibility for the NIH’s RADx Tech initiative and developing tools like FormA11y for PDF remediation.

Dr. Jordan has 10 patents in kiosk and touchscreen accessibility, and his research spans 50 years of Trace Center innovations. His articles emphasize user-centric design, inclusive technologies, and bridging gaps between accessibility standards and real-world practices. He advocates for auto-hyper-personalization systems to democratize technology access globally.