Finding a Way to Hear Email

Research may soon make it possible to hear email instead of reading it, thanks in part to a collaboration between EXCEL Scholar Pujitha Weerakoon '04 and Ismail Jouny, professor and head of electrical and computer engineering.

"Puji is working on a software program that will be able to call a phone number, log on to an email account, and have the emails read aloud," explains Jouny. "First, we need to create a software program to access the email account. Then we need to create a program capable of converting text to speech."

"I was drawn to the project because it could be beneficial to those who can't read," says Weerakoon, a double major in electrical and computer engineering and mathematics and a professional dancer. "I also was intrigued by having the opportunity to combine my skills in electrical engineering through the use of signal processing with my computer skills in writing software."

Weerakoon has completed dance performance tours in Europe and Asia. He was a member of the three-student team that finished third in last year's Barge Mathematics Competition. A resident adviser, he is a member of International Students Association and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

In a previous EXCEL project, Weerakoon studied the geometry of fish in motion with Rob Root, associate professor of mathematics. Last summer, he researched power plants in his home country of Sri Lanka.