Biographical sketches of authors

Junji Maeda IBM Research Division, IBM Tokyo Research Laboratory, 1623-14 Shimo-tsuruma, Yamato-shi, Kanagawa-ken 242-8502, Japan (maeda@jp.ibm.com). Mr. Maeda received an M.S. degree in information science from the University of Tokyo in 1989. He joined the Tokyo Research Laboratory in 1992. His research interests include Web accessibility, image and video processing, and digital media. He was named a Master Inventor at IBM Research in 2003. Mr. Maeda is a member of the IEEE Computer Society, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ), and the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE).

Kentarou Fukuda IBM Research Division, IBM Tokyo Research Laboratory, 1623-14 Shimo-tsuruma, Yamato-shi, Kanagawa-ken 242-8502, Japan (kentarou@jp.ibm.com). Dr. Fukuda received M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in information and computer sciences from Osaka University, Japan, in 1998 and 2000, respectively. He joined the Tokyo Research Laboratory in 2000. His research interests include Web accessibility, Web application development, and multimedia systems. Dr. Fukuda is a member of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE) and the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ).

Hironobu Takagi IBM Research Division, IBM Tokyo Research Laboratory, 1623-14 Shimo-tsuruma, Yamato-shi, Kanagawa-ken 242-8502, Japan (takagih@jp.ibm.com). Dr. Takagi joined the Tokyo Research Laboratory in 1999. He has conducted research and development on nonvisual computer interfaces. In 2000 he received a Ph.D. degree from the Department of Science, University of Tokyo. Dr. Takagi is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ), and the Japan Society for Software Science and Technology (JSSST).

Chieko Asakawa IBM Research Division, IBM Tokyo Research Laboratory, 1623-14 Shimo-tsuruma, Yamato-shi, Kanagawa-ken 242-8502, Japan (chie@jp.ibm.com). Dr. Asakawa joined the Tokyo Research Laboratory in 1985. Since that time she has conducted research and development on nonvisual computer interfaces for the blind, including the Home Page Reader in 1997. She received recognition from the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare in 1999 and was inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame in 2003. She received a Ph.D. degree from the Department of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies in the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo in 2004. Dr. Asakawa is a member of the IBM Academy of Technology, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE), and the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ).