Bruce Baker has
turned his lifelong fascination with linguistics into a passion for helping
individuals with physical disabilities.
Mr. Baker, an adjunct associate professor at the School
of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, is the founder and president of Semantic
Compaction Systems. His company, based in Castle Shannon, develops,
translates, and licenses iconic interfaces for computers in a variety of
languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, and
Swedish.
The Baldwin Township resident was compelled to develop
Minspeak in 1980 after meeting intelligent people who were physically unable to
write, talk, or use hand signs. He used his classical linguistic training
to create a patented visual language system based upon ancient hieroglyphics.
With the Minspeak system, hundreds of words and
sentences can be encoded with very few keystrokes. Although originally
designed for adults, speech-language pathologists are now using the system to
teach children with developmental disabilities.
"The most rewarding aspect of my work is getting to
know people with complex disabilities who, though unable to talk, want to
participate in life to its fullest," said Mr. Baker. "Explaining complex
linguistic theory in multiple languages is perhaps the biggest challenge.”
Individuals who use the Minspeak system are now able to
enjoy a better quality of life by communicating more effectively with their
friends and relatives, pursuing higher education, and maintaining gainful
employment.
In addition to starting Semantic Compaction Systems,
Mr. Baker is the founder of a nonprofit corporation known as Support Helps
Others Use Technology. The mission of SHOUT is to study employment issues
for people with significant impairments.
Mr. Baker's love of language began when he was 6 years
old. "I picked up a Latin textbook that my late grandmother had taught
from and I was fascinated because I could read this new language," he recalled.
"I said someday I'll read this language and I'll know how to speak like the
Romans."
Mr. Baker earned a Bachelor's Degree in Latin with a
minor in Greek in 1967 from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He
received a degree in French language and literature from Middlebury College in
Middlebury, Vermont, in 1976. Today, he holds numerous patents and has
several pending for language and command technology throughout the world.
Mr. Baker has been recognized for his work with awards
from many organizations, including the United Cerebral Palsy in Washington,
D.C., and the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative
Communication in Toronto, Canada.
