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President Barack Obama has appointed Utahn Sachin Pavithran, who is blind, to a federal board that writes the technical standards for policies about access for the disabled to buildings, transit vehicles, telecommunications equipment and information technology.

Pavithran is director of the Utah Assistive Technology Program at the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University. President Obama appointed him to the federal Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, also known as the U.S. Access Board.

The USU graduate also serves on the Committee of the National Federation of the Blind and the Association of Assistive Technology ACT Program National Board. He is currently also working on a Ph.D. at USU in disability disciplines.

As a blind person, he said he hopes especially to contribute to accessibility for the blind — and utilize his 12 years of experience in working on accessible websites and training others in assistive technology.

"I'm really excited. I know I'm going to learn a lot about policy," Pavithran said. "There are a lot of expectations from me and I hope to live up to them and learn and contribute."