2026 CFF FELLOWSHIP LECTURE
Impact Beyond the Research Lab: Scaling Digital Health Innovations
Oliver Wendt, PhD, F-ASHA
Thursday, November 5, 2026
12:00-1:30 p.m. Eastern
Dauch Alumni Center, Prusiecki Banquet Room
403 W. Wood Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907
The CFF Fellowship Lecture Series is free and open to the public.
Space is limited, so registration is required.
Lunch will be provided to those registered.
At this year’s CFF Fellowship Lecture Series, Oliver Wendt, PhD, F-ASHA, 2012 Kontos Faculty Fellow and Kontos Faculty Scholar of CFF, will focus on his journey translating technology-based intervention research into commercially viable digital health tools for autistic learners and their families.
Dr. Wendt’s research focuses on the acquisition of speech, language, and social communication in minimally speaking individuals with autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities through augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). His lecture will explore how this research led to the development of the SPEAK*** suite of award-winning AAC applications and the process of translating these innovations from the research lab into digital health technologies for a global use. He will highlight the creation of SPEAK MODalities, LLC, and SPEAK Abilities, LLP, as examples of how university research into scalable products and services that directly benefit individuals, families, and professionals beyond the academic setting.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Oliver Wendt, PhD, F-ASHA, is Chair in Cognitive and Emotional Disabilities at the University of Potsdam, Germany. He holds additional appointments as Kontos Faculty Scholar at the Center for Families at Purdue University and as Research Associate with the Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Dr. Wendt is also co-founder and Chief Science Officer of SPEAK Abilities, LLP, a deep technology company for digital health applications.
His scholarship focuses on developing and evaluating evidence-based approaches to support communication and language development for individuals with autism and developmental disabilities, with particular expertise in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and assistive technology (AT).
Dr. Wendt’s research and development projects received funding from federal agencies and private organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, the Organization for Autism Research, the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, and the AWS Foundation.
A Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, he has published 45 peer-reviewed articles and 24 book chapters in AAC, AT, and evidence-based practice, in addition to a major textbook titled “Assistive Technology: Principles and Applications for Communication Disorders and Special Education”. Currently, Dr. Wendt serves as editor of the Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, and the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (Language Section).
Digital health technologies developed through his research include the AAC applications SPEAKall!, SPEAKall! Lite, SPEAKmore!, SPEAKplay!, and SPEAKtogether! Dr. Wendt’s contributions to research and innovation have received national and international recognition, including the Autism Hero Award, the Autism Society of America’s Outstanding Research Award, the Edison Innovation Award, the Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition Grand Prize, the R&D 100 Award and others.