Computers are human-used and human-built. Consequently there is a strong relationship between people and technology in both the production and consumption of technology. I use empirical methods to understand this relationship. The relationship continues to evolve and is hard to predict because computing technologies are a canvas on which developers and users apply their values to build and consume technologically mediated experiences.

This perspective has enabled me to work on a variety of cases. My earliest interests where in the production of commercial systems, I studied software developers in a start up, and later software and hardware developers producing a variety of telecommunications products. I’ve also worked with robotics, security, and networking researchers to consider how accounting for the development and user experience might influence what we design and how we build it.

I’ve also explored how people use technologies, and whether technologies enable a good (or any) user experience. My earliest experiences were understanding the migration of technologies into the home, particularly the cellphone and Instant Messaging. More recently I’ve worked with researchers interested in health and transnational communities to understand the role that technologies play in their life experiences.

I’ve been very lucky to work with many talented people. I am interested in any number of problems, but consistently I have been drawn to working with people who inspire me, from whom I learn, and who I enjoy interacting with. Luckily, Irvine, Bell Labs, Xerox PARC, and Georgia Tech has/had these kinds of people in abundance.