The Center for Human-Computer Interaction
Welcome
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is the region of intersection between the social and behavioral sciences, and information technology. It provides a challenging test domain for applying and developing social theory and a stringent source of constraint for creating and evaluating new information systems.
Recent News
Need research study participants?
If you need research study participants, bear in mind that students enrolled in Professor Smith-Jackson\'s ISE 4644 class are required to participate in 2 research studies during the fall semester (or write a paper as ...
Interested in a Coding Commons?
In HCI research, many of us occasionally have the need to review and code qualitative research data, such as videos or surveys. Often it is possible for us to review our own research data, but we face the risk of our per ...
Supporting participant costs of grad student research
Graduate Students: If you seek support for the costs of participants in your research, please submit a research proposal as follows: a) Describe the background and plan for the study; b) explain why you need paid parti ...
Recent CHCI Seminar
Exploring and Designing for Computing at the Margins
Abstract: 
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has the potential to benefit everyones life. Yet, technology research typically focuses on a limited range of users and practices. Designers consider people with high-speed Internet access during the design process and countless examples demonstrating how ICT can support work activities exist. But what about people with inconsistent Internet access and ICT practices unrelated to productivity? My research focuses these marginalized users and uses of technology. In this talk, I will first present a project from my dissertation examining American Muslims to demonstrate how studying marginalized ICT practices results in innovative design. Next, I will discuss my current research investigating how African migrants in the U.S. use technology to communicate with family members in their countries of origin. Findings from this work reveal how studying people who are not typically considered during the design process highlights new factors to acknowledge when developing computer systems. Finally, I will describe how this work motivates a future research agenda focused on the rural poor in Africa and how to design technology based limited access to power and the Internet.
Bio: Susan Wyche is a Computing Innovation Fellow (CI Fellow) in the Virginia Tech Center for Human-Computer Interaction. Her research focuses on human-computer interaction, design and cultural studies of technology. Prior to coming to Virginia Tech, Wyche received her PhD in Human-Centered Computing from the Georgia Institute of Technology, her Masters from Cornell University and her undergraduate degree in Industrial Design from Carnegie Mellon University. In addition to her academic pursuits, Wyche has professional design experience, most notably working at Libbey Inc. designing glassware and as a design researcher for S.C. Johnson Inc. She has also worked as a research intern at Microsoft Research, Cambridge (U.K.) and Intel Labs (Berkeley).
Fluid 960 Grid System, created by Stephen Bau, based on the 960 Grid System by Nathan Smith. Released under the GPL / MIT Licenses.