With a presentation on the development of braille as a writing system, Rice Professor of Linguistics Robert Englebretson opened the Scientia Small Conference titled “Interdisciplinary Research Perspectives on Braille Reading and Writing” March 8. A global cohort of experts in psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, linguistics, education and disability studies packed into the Farnsworth Pavilion at the Ley Student Center for the three-day symposium to address three fundamental issues: what it means to read and write, how this may be similar or different across the visual and tactile modalities and how this matters for the reading, writing and teaching of braille. (Photos by Katharine Shilcutt)