My research vision is to lead the emergenceof thenotification systems research fieldto a position marked by cohesive community effort,scientific method, and focus on relevant,real-world problems--providing improved system interfacesand engineering processes.Notification systems are intended to draw your attention away froma primary task, so designing such systems requires understanding thecosts and benefits to interruption, reaction, and comprehension.I work on both the process and application side in advancingthis emerging domain. My process side work focuses on waysto capture, share, and reuse interface design knowledge.My applications, generally developed for mobile devices(tablets, smartwatches, handhelds, and mobile phones),focus on fields in which appropriate notificationshave great potential value--health and wellness,assistive technologies, hiking and biking,work-order systems, and educational situations.
I lead Virginia Tech'sTechnology on the Trailinitiative, seeking to investigate ways that technology is used inhiking, biking, walking, and other outdoor travel-related settings.We balance the benefits of inserting technologyinto hiking and outdoor settingswith the impacts on individuals and their relationships with others.Much of our work has examined existing technologies and how they haveimpacted our experiences and relationships in the outdoors.We also seek partnerships with scientists and outdoor enthusiastswho are interested in ways that technology can help them;current partnerships are investigating poison ivy emergence and spread,water quality monitoring, campsite sustainability, and birding.A good start to understanding this area is through theHCI Outdoors bookthat I co-edited with Michael Jones from BYUand Virginia Tech grad student Tim Stelter--an edited volume withcontributions from scientists and researchers around the world.
Potential collaborators are encouraged to send me emailor, if you are local, come by during my office hourswhich I hold as part of our weeklyHack and Yak gathering(as long as there's not a global pandemic, sabbatical, or other emergency going on).I'm always interested in working on research projectswith motivated students at all levels:undergrad, Masters, Ph.D.I co-founded and serve on the committe for theVTURCSundergraduate research programto encourage undergrads to become involved in research,and, for undergraduate students wanting to work with me,I sponsor several projects through the program.I also teach Senior Capstone classes and grad special topics classeson a rotating set of themes.
Visit myresearch group pagefor more details about the research directions of my students and me.You can also visit myGoogle Scholar page for a view of high-impact papers and collaborators.
I teach classes that explore the role of humans in designing and using technology.My classes tend to be highly interactive, with a mix of teaching styles that seeks toengage people of varying skills, interests, and abilities. I greatly enjoy developingin-class activities that ask students to apply the skills they are learning toproblems that are relevant to the region, state, country, and world. Most recently Ihave been developing activities around the theme "Technology on the Trail", that looksat ways that technology can help inform and engage users on extended journeys withoutinterfering negatively in their experience. I am happy to share teaching materialsfor courses listed below.
I also seek out interesting and engaging teaching experiences, and I am open to offersto teach elsewhere! I spent a semester in Egypt (Alexandria and Cairo) teaching classeson human-computer interaction, interface design, and information visualization. I alsotaught during two abbreviated summer programs at the University of Colorado, Boulder.And I led a multi-university undergraduate course partneringwith Historically Black Colleges and Universitiesfocused on research methods for undergrads.
Spring 2023 Teaching Schedule:
Classes taught:
These classes are ordered based (roughly) on the frequency with which I teach them. The lead numberdescribes the intended course audience; i.e., 1000-level courses tend to have no prerequisites and are for targeted for freshmen, 2000-3000 may have a few prereqs and are targeted for sophomores and juniors, 4000 tend to have multiple prereqs and are targeted for junior and seniors, 5000 are for seniors and first-year grad students, 6000 are for advanced grad students who have had relevant 5000-level classes.
I am Co-Director of Virginia Tech's Human-Centered Design (HCD) program, a degree-granting program that offers both a Ph.D. and a Graduate Certificate.The Ph.D. degree is housed in the Virginia Tech Graduate School and is one of Virginia Tech's interdisciplinary Ph.D.s,which seek to encourage and enable Ph.D.s with significant overlap across disciplinary boundaries. Together with Dr. Ico Bukvic, we direct the program, which includes handling admissions, matching students to advisors, procuring funds,holding research and social events, and leading outreach events within and outside of Virginia Tech.We accomplish these tasks with the help and advice of the HCD Executive Committee, a group of faculty and administratorsselected from the arts, engineering, computing, sciences, and architecture. Please visit the HCD web site for more information,and email me with questions, comments, and to volunteer to help with your time or money!
The focus of my outreach efforts is oninclusion of a diverse set ofperspectives into the fields of human-computer interaction and computer science.Much of my outreach work has centered on inclusion of women, minorities,people with disabilities, and people in other underrepresented groups.My philosophy is that there are a great many excellent peoplewho do not feel welcome or comfortable in computing and technology-related fields,and it is worthwhile and productive for the discipline and the individualsthat we together instantiate progress toward inclusion.I'm active on several fronts for theNCWIT organization, andI'm honored to have received theNCWIT Research Mentoring Award in 2012for my work with women and minority undergraduate students in research-related activities.I was part of our departmental team that received theNCWIT Extension Services Transformation Award in 2016in recognition of our commitment to and proven results in recruiting and retaining womeninto undergraduate computing programs.I was the founding chair of the CS@VT Diversity Committeeand continue to organize a lot of outreach activities,and I am the faculty adviser to ourComputer Science Community Service (CS Squared)organization that coordinates volunteers in schools and community centers in our region.
Prior diversity activities include serving as directorfor the Center for HCI's summerREU Site program, with a number of minority and women's colleges acting as partners.I served as co-PI of A4RC,an NSF Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC)Alliance led by North Carolina A&T State University that helped establishan alliance between minority universities and research universitiesfor collaborative education and research.I've also worked with the NSF Advance program ononline dissemination of materialsrelated to the participation of women in science and engineeringin graduate education through VT Advance.
I'm also actively working to promote research within the CHI community.In 2022, I served as Workshops Co-Chair for the ACM GROUP Conference.In 2017 and 2018, I chaired a pair of Technology on the Trail workshops,the first at Virginia Tech and the second at the ACM GROUP Conference.In 2014, I was the ACM CSCW Videos Co-Chair with Katie Derthick.In 2012 I organized an ACM DIS workshop onDesigning for Cognitive Limitationswith Clayton Lewis.In 2010 I organized an ACM SIGCHI workshop onArtifacts in Design with Michael Atwood, Gayle Curtis,Steve Harrison, Jon Kolko, Erik Stolterman, and Shahtab Wahid.I also served on the CHI Program Committee in 2010.In 2007 I was the ACM SIGCHI Work-in-Progress co-chairwith Catalina Danis.Together with JJ Cadiz, Mary Czerwinski, and John StaskoI organized a workshop at the 2003 ACM SIGCHI Conference onProviding Elegant Peripheral Awareness.Also, I was a guest editor with Mary Czerwinski and Lyn Bartramfor an IJHCS special issue on theDesign and Evaluation of Notification User Interfacesthat appeared in May 2003.