To them Steven Hawking, right is a hero. He has Lou Gehrig's disease. Hawking holds the Lucasian Professorship at Cambridge University, which was once held by Sir Isaac Newton. High school students are admitted based on their grade point averages and interest in science, math and engineering. The UW College of Engineering program is directed by Sheryl Burgstahler, assistant director in the Office of Computing and Communications.
Participants are blind, learning disabled, and hearing and health and mobility impaired.
As part of the program, they are loaned home computers and taught to access Internet, e-mail and other information systems.