photo of four people sitting around a DiamondTouch table using their hands to perform a cooperative gesture

project areas

touchscreen accessibility

surfaces for productivity tasks

educational applications

access control & coordination

space management

gesture interfaces & methodologies

misc. surface computing projects

surface computing & gestures

overview

My research on surface computing explores the use of horizontal interactive displays for a variety of entertainment, educational, and productivity applications. My Ph.D. dissertation, Supporting Effective Interaction with Tabletop Groupware, introduced novel interaction techniques and compared interface designs for supporting co-located group work around computer-augmented tables. Post-Ph.D., I continued to conduct surface research (though this is no longer my primary area of focus): key contributions include research on surface computing systems for productivity tasks, gesture elicitation methodologies, and touchscreen interactions that are accessible to blind users.

Teaching & Service

Jacob O. Wobbrock and I co-taught "Input and Interaction" at the University of Washington during spring quarter 2012. I served as program co-chair for the 2012 ACM conference on Interactive Tabletops & Surfaces (ITS 2012). I received the Lasting Impact Award at the 2016 ACM Interactive Surfaces and Spaces conference for my research on using surface computers for produtivity tasks.

Research Projects

Touchscreen Accessibility

Surfaces for productivity tasks

Educational applications of surface computing

  • interfaces to promote equitable participation by students during educational group work [ IEEE CG&A paper ]
  • SIDES: a tabletop game for social skills development aimed at youth with Asperger's syndrome [ CSCW 2006 paper ]

Access control and coordination on multi-user surfaces

Space management on multi-user surfaces

  • Drawers: hybrid tangible/virtual storage spaces for interactive tables [ Ubicomp 2006 poster ]
  • TeamTag: a study comparing shared vs. distributed widget placement on tabletops [ CHI 2006 paper ]
  • Individual audio channels to provide private feedback [ CSCW 2004 paper ]

Gesture interfaces and methodologies

Miscellaneous surface computing projects