The Science and Design of Internet Experiences

Speaker
Elizabeth F. Churchill
Principal Research Scientist, Yahoo! Research

When
-

Where
Gates and Hillman Centers 4401 (Rashid Auditorium)

Description

As its name suggests, Human Computer Interaction is centrally concerned with understanding how people experience computational technologies, and with designing technologies with peoples’ capabilities, characteristics, preferences, passions and proclivities in mind. In this talk I will discuss the increasingly broad remit of human computer interaction (HCI) as a discipline. This expansion is driven in large part by the proliferation of everyday consumer devices, the applications that are being built for them and the Internet as a far-reaching platform for creation, distribution, recruitment, evaluation and experimentation. I will talk about some of the projects being conducted by the Internet Experiences Group of Yahoo! Research, and consider the ways in which research, practice and development can and do speak to each other. I will lay out some of the challenges and opportunities we face as HCI researchers, practitioners and students. In the process I will reflect on what are, in my opinion, some familiar terms associated with HCI methods that are in need of a dusting off, among them: user-centered, end-user, interactive, iterative, qualitative, quantitative, scale, sample and population.

Speaker's Bio

Dr. Elizabeth Churchill is a Principal Research Scientist and manager of the Internet Experiences group at Yahoo! Research. Originally a psychologist by training, throughout her career Elizabeth has focused on understanding the ways in which people interact—whether their interactions are primarily face to face or are technologically mediated. She has published within the areas of theoretical and applied psychology, cognitive science, human computer interaction and computer supported cooperative work. Elizabeth has a BSc in Experimental Psychology, an MSc in Knowledge Based Systems, both from the University of Sussex, and a PhD in Cognitive Science from the University of Cambridge. She regularly teaches at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Information. In 2010, she was recognized as a Distinguished Scientist by the Association for Computing Machinery. She is the current Vice President of the Association of Computing Machinery’s (ACM) Special Interest Group on Computer Human Interaction (SigCHI).

Speaker's Website
http://elizabethchurchill.com/

Host
Steven Dow