Atomic Hands

Atomic Hands was founded by Dr. Alicia Wooten and Dr. Barbara Spiecker who are themselves scientists and members of the deaf community. Alicia and Barbara met at Rochester Institute of Technology while taking classes together and doing research in the same lab. They bonded over science, traveling, camping, and cats. Both went on to pursue doctoral degrees on the opposite coasts of the United States. As they worked on their Ph.D., they shared some of their experiences and struggles with each other and noticed some similarities. Their similarities included challenges of English-centric learning, lack of networking with deaf STEMists, and frustration of not being able to access science videos in a spoken language. After attending a Deaf Academics Conference together in 2017, they decided they could not sit around anymore and wanted to make a change, and thus Atomic Hands was created. Atomic Hands has three main missions: 1) Foster wonder and curiosity in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) through the production and dissemination of American Sign Language (ASL)-centric resources. 2) Empower our community to expand ASL by developing and delivering engaging STEM-related topics through creative language play. 3) Encourage collaboration and networking opportunities among current and future deaf STEMists and our community. If you are interested in working with Atomic Hands, we provide several services tailored to what you need such as (but not limited to): 1) We produce top-quality English to American Sign Language (ASL) translation services for anything Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related. 2) We provide customized training and consultation on topics including but not limited to, learning STEM in ASL, creating a deaf-friendly STEM workplace, and developing ASL-centric STEM resources. 3) We offer expertise in developing ASL STEM content, videos, and signs. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @atomichands!