​Frank Mondelli (雯出理フランク) is Assistant Professor of Japanese Studies in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Delaware. His research and teaching interests focus on the material and cultural history of technology, media, and disability in modern Japan, including the history and ​politics of assistive technologies, videogames, and traditional craftwork. His current book manuscript explores the historical intersection of D/deafness, music, and technological and media spectacle in 20th century and contemporary Japan. His academic research is deeply influenced by his work in disability and Deaf rights advocacy in both the United States and Japan. He has taught courses in Japanese videogames, literature, and culture, as well as in Science and Technology Studies (STS).
Frank has organized and chaired panels for conferences like the Society for Cinema and ​​Media Studies (SCMS), the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), and the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT). He has given invited talks at institutions like Princeton University, the Japan-U.S. Educational Commission, the American Printing House for the Blind, the University of California, Merced, Fukuyama University, Rikkyo University, Nanzan University, Hōsei University, and more. He also believes passionately in merging academic research with social activism and artistic​ practice, and has organized conferences like “Mediations: Disability, Technology, and the Arts” at Stanford, which featured research talks, art installations, and a dance performance; and he co-organized the “CripTech Metaverse Lab” at Gray Area in San Francisco, which invited disabled artists to a three-day summit to experience and discuss disability expression and aesthetics in emerging media technologies.​