I am a social–cognitive scientist working in the area of human–computer interaction. In my research, I apply, extend, and create empirical theories, research and design methods, and interactive technologies. The design of new interactions and experiences is often both a means and an end. I am currently a PhD student and researcher in the CHIMe Lab at Stanford University. I was previously (2007-2009) a member of the research staff at Nokia Research Center, Palo Alto, in the Innovate, Design, Experience, Animate (IDEA) team.
The two principal subjects of my research are
- social interactions through communication technologies and
- the “social” relationships we have with the technologies themselves.
In particular, I have studied how mobile technologies can be designed to change people’s attitudes and behaviors – whether by transforming and influencing their communications with others or by cuing them to treat systems and services as if they were human. Within this area – called mobile persuasion – recent and current work has included persuasion profiling, context-aware mobile media sharing, self-disclosure via mobile phones, participation in online communities, and mobile augmented reality. I use multiple methods in my work — including lab and field experiments, interviews, diary methods, rapid prototyping, and design space analysis.
Before joining Nokia, I co-directed the mobile persuasion research program in the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab and worked at Yahoo! Research Berkeley on ZoneTag and Zurfer. I have M.S. and B.S. degrees in Symbolic Systems (cognitive science) from Stanford University, and a B.A. in Philosophy, also from Stanford. My M.S. thesis reported on experimental research in mobile persuasive technology and self-disclosure behavior.
I use my blog, Ready-to-hand, to share new ideas and report on research in an immediate and less formal way than scholarly publications.
