University of Pennsylvania

School of Engineering and Applied Science

Grace Hopper Lecture Series

Justine Cassell

Director of the Human-Computer Interaction Institute

in the School of Computer Science at CMU

"The Human at the Heart of our Work: Advancing Social Theory and Engineering Practice"

*Abstract*: How do we build an interdisciplinary science of human computer interaction that contributes both to social and behavioral theory and engineering practice? On the one hand, how do we maximize the benefits that theory can bring to the design of actual artifacts that improve health, well-being, education, and social change? On the other hand, how do we maximize the use of technological artifacts in pushing the boundaries of theory? In sum, how do we understand human behavior with, through, and in response to new technologies, and how do we design new technologies shaped by this understanding?

In this talk, I use examples from my recent research to illustrate dimensions of these questions. By referencing a range of work that depends intrinsically on both social and behavioral theory and engineering practice, I point to ways that HCI can contribute to both. This work reflects my perspective on the power and promise of HCI research to make significant contributions to social theory and to engineering practice, and the power and promise of a partnership between social theory and engineering practice to keep the human always at the heart of our work.

*Bio*:
Justine Cassell joined Carnegie Mellon University in August 2010 as director of the Human-Computer Interaction Institute in the School of Computer Science. A member of the faculty at Northwestern University from 2003 to 2010, she was the founding director of its Center for Technology and Social Behavior, and before that was a tenured professor at the MIT Media Lab. Cassell received the Edgerton Prize at MIT, is an ACM Distinguished Lecturer, was honored in 2008 with the "Women of Vision" award from the Anita Borg Institute, and in 2011 was named to the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council.  

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Wu & Chen Auditorium

101 Levine Hall

3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

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Learn more about the life and work of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper:

http://www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/hopper.html

or

http://www.seas.upenn.edu/pubs/grace-hopper-series.html

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