Marina Kobayashi

• Carnegie Mellon University - Masters Program, Human-Computer Interaction Institute
• Carnegie Mellon University - BS, Policy & Management, Decision Science, Business Administration Minor
• Skill Focus - Behavioral Science, CSCW, Large-Scale Collaboration

Marina grew up in Morgan Hill, California and originally came to Carnegie Mellon University for her undergraduate studies. As an undergraduate research assistant in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute's User Studies Lab she became interested in usability and how her background in behavioral science could be applied. Since that initial research assistantship she's become interested in looking at people working together and how multiple-person collaboration can be improved through innovative technology.

Marina has planned, designed, and conducted laboratory research to test multiple-person collaboration, schedule planning, and content management systems being developed for DARPA. The tests compared currently available applications with AI-enhanced applications, mocked-up interfaces, and multi-agent coordination, which involved several different components of an overarching intelligent agent system. Marina's NSF-funded research in the medical context involved field observations and interviews to assess the situation awareness and coordination, of people adapting to changing schedules, workloads, and resources. Her long-term research goals are to explore work coordination and planning in many complex and varied contexts, and to look at how human-machine interaction can extend the capabilities of technology that is not fully autonomous and vice-versa.

In her spare time Marina enjoys travel, movies, reading, and international cuisine.

Shannon O’Brien

• Carnegie Mellon University - Masters Program, Human-Computer Interaction Institute
• Carroll College - BA in Mathematics and Computer Science
• Work Experience - Two Internships at JPL
• Skill Focus - Programming (Java, C++), Writing

Shannon graduated in May 2004 from Carroll College, a private liberal arts college in Helena, Montana. She spent most of her life in rural Montana, and has had many unique experiences such as raising animals for 4H and attending a one-room school.

For the past two summers, Shannon had the opportunity to intern at JPL. During her first summer, she worked on automated sequence software, editing error messages. Last summer, she worked in the AI lab, coding an interface designed at Ames. Both internships have further led to her interest in the NASA program. In her spare time, Shannon enjoys basketball and outdoor activities such as running, hiking, and fishing.

Guy Pyrzak

• Carnegie Mellon University - Masters Program, Human-Computer Interaction Institute
• LSU - BS in CS, Chemistry Minor
• Work Experience - User Analyst for LSU's Office of Computing Services
• Skill Focus - Web Design/Programming, Application Programming, Document Design/Layout

Guy Pyrzak started playing with computers at a young age, and was quickly enamored with the Internet and its capabilities. Guy spent most of his younger years in Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to Mandeville, a small town north of New Orleans in high school. In high school, Guy became involved in web page design, and dynamic web application programming.

Guy graduated from Louisiana State University in May 2003 with a BS degree in Computer Science and Chemistry minor. After graduation from LSU, Guy took a position with the Information Technology Department at LSU and worked on several web applications. Guy's academic interests include ubiquitous computing, organizational communication, electronic collaboration, and game design.

In a former life Guy was an avid soccer player, scuba diver, skier and hiker. In his free time he enjoys watching Buffy on his TiVo, playing video games, and indulging in other geeky activities. Guy wanted to work on the NASA project because of his interest in translating complex and difficult tasks into a clear and simplistic interface. He hopes that in the future he will be able to apply his experiences from the NASA project to designing interfaces for complex ubiquitous devices.

Christian Ratterman

• Carnegie Mellon University - Masters Program, Human-Computer Interaction Institute
• Miami University of Ohio - Bachelor of Philosophy, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Degree focus: Interactive Information Systems, Marketing Minor
• Skill Focus - Web Application Development, Interactive System Design & Media Development

Clearly focused on developing and managing various types of application systems, Christian Ratterman generated a personalized undergraduate degree in Interactive Information Systems, which combined such disciplines as Computer Science, Business, Communications, Interactive Media, Design, as well as Social and Physical Sciences. Another significant component of this degree was pragmatic experience; therefore, Christian assumed core and leadership roles in designing software systems for Convergys, The Circuit, and Miami University.

Now working toward his Masters degree in Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University, Christian has expanded his programming and development expertise in a number of areas, including server and client side programming, database management, graphic design, video editing, and project management. In preparation for his involvement with NASA, Christian will take additional courses and attend seminars dealing with Artificial Intelligence and

Robotics. His long-standing interest in the history of NASA and space research makes the opportunity to work with the agency not only intellectually and professionally satisfying but also personally exciting.

Greg Vassallo

• Carnegie Mellon University - Masters Program, Human-Computer Interaction Institute
• Syracuse University - S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Major: Visual & Interactive Communications, Concentration in Photograph, Minor: Information Management & Technology
• Work Experience - Lead Web Developer; ACC Web Services; Syracuse, NY; 2001-2004
• Skill Focus - Interface and Interaction Design, Prototyping & Web, Development Technologies

To Greg Vassallo, NASA's recent missions to Mars and Titan represent the limitless ingenuity of the human spirit, a pinnacle achievement in the curve of human history, and a positive force in a world filled with negativity. Greg is extremely excited about the opportunity to apply his passion for interface and interaction design to this project, and contribute - if even in a small way - to the advancement of NASA's mission.

Greg came to the interaction design field with a strong background in graphic design and photography. While he still loves the visual arts, he had a need to use his creativity to design and build things that people could use. He taught himself web design and programming, and within one year was promoted to Lead Web Developer at a development firm in his hometown, Syracuse, NY. After a few years of developing web applications for medium-sized clients, Greg was ready for a new and bigger challenge, which brought him to CMU and now the NASA project.

Greg has been married to his wife Manal for a year and a half, and she and his huge Italian family are the most important things in his life. When he' not working or hanging out with Manal, chances are he's listening to independent music, working on a personal photography or web project, reading, meditating, or watching a movie.

Karen Wong

• Carnegie Mellon University - Masters Program, Human-Computer Interaction Institute
• University of British Columbia - Major: Computer Science, Minor: Psychology
• Skill Focus - Educational Technology, Cognitive Tutors, Collaboration

Karen was first introduced to HCI while on an internship in Japan, where she worked on a 3D emotion-recognizing dance system. After that enlightening experience, she has continued to search for fun and exciting ways for humans to interact effectively with computers.

Upon graduating from the University of British Columbia with a major in Computer Science and a minor in Psychology, she spent 2 years at NGRAIN, a 3D graphics start-up company, as a software engineer and HCI lead. Her passion for HCI only continued to grow, so she returned to school for further specialization in the field. Since then, for the last year and a half, she has been working part-time towards her Masters of HCI at Carnegie Mellon University, as well as working fulltime on different projects with a focus on educational technology. She began with Project LISTEN's Reading Tutor: a tutor that teaches kids to read by listening to them. More recently she has joined the Kiva team, conducting user research on collaborative tools.

During her free time, Karen can be found swing dancing, snowboarding, or stargazing.