Jacob O. Wobbrock, Director
The AIM Research Group at the University of Washington comprises Ph.D. students in Information Science and Computer Science & Engineering working with Professor Jacob O. Wobbrock on accessibility, interaction, and mobility within the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). We are active members of the DUB group, the multi-departmental HCI and Design group on campus. Our projects focus on making computer and information technologies more accessible to people with disabilities; developing new input and interaction techniques for desktop and off-desktop platforms; and understanding and designing for the effects of mobility on human-computer interaction. Also, many of our projects intersect these efforts, for example by making mobile devices more accessible to people with disabilities through new interaction techniques. We publish at top HCI conferences such as CHI, UIST, and ASSETS, and in HCI journals such as TOCHI and IJHCS.
Raya Fidel, Director
Through empirically-based field studies, researchers at the Center for Human-Information Interaction address the effectiveness of current information systems and technologies. The results of these studies are used to produce realistic and useful design requirements. The research focuses on the study of human-information interaction in the workplace, using the Cognitive Work Analysis framework. CWA is one of the few conceptual frameworks that supports simultaneous study of task and context and offers mechanisms to transfer results from an in-depth analysis of human-information interaction directly to design requirements.
Research areas include: information behavior, information retrieval, knowledge organization, and empirical methods for workplace studies.
Barbara Endicott-Popovsky, Director
As a society, we are more dependent than ever on an information infrastructure enabled by public networks, creating unintended vulnerabilities that can compromise individual privacy, the progress of e-commerce, the value of intellectual property, the stability of critical infrastructure, and homeland security. New protective measures are required. As a National Center of Excellence in information assurance education, the Center for Information Assurance & Cybersecurity is developing a range of measures—including new research approaches, education opportunities, public awareness-building and services—to mitigate these growing threats.
Karine Barzilai-Nahon, Director
The University of Washington's Center for Information & Society (CIS) conducts independent research on how information and communication technologies (ICTs) affect societies around the world.
CIS collaborates with departments throughout the university and with other research institutions around the world to conduct multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research, identifying the challenges, designing research protocols, implementing studies, and collecting and analyzing data.
CIS is a leader in the global network of ICT researchers, producing work that empowers policymakers at all levels to produce more effective ICT programs.
Multiple Departments
DUB is an alliance of faculty and students across the University of Washington exploring Human-Computer Interaction and Design. Primary DUB departments include Computer Science & Engineering, Technical Communication, the Information School, and the Design Division in the School of Art. Other departments and industry partners, such as Microsoft Research and Intel Research, are also part of DUB. DUB facilitates research and teaching collaboration, student internships, and funding initiatives in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). DUB also hosts a weekly seminar series, bringing top-quality research in HCI to the University of Washington.
Karen E. Fisher, Director
IBEC researchers address how people experience information as part of everyday living. Specializing in naturalistic inquiry, IBEC studies how information needs are created and how information is sought, managed, shared and used in social contexts, particularly in ways that address people's affective, cognitive and physical needs. In addition to conducting outcome-based evaluation of information services, IBEC researchers specialize in understanding the role of place (aka “information grounds”) and other contextual factors in information flow and interpersonal information seeking.
Kevin C. Desouza, Director
The Institute for Innovation in Information Management (I3M) is focused on helping corporations increase their competitiveness through more effective use of their information and knowledge resources. The Institute leverages the Information School's excellence in research and practice in Information Management to champion innovation in that area. Members of the Institute set the research agenda, participate in semi-annual meetings to review strategy and direction, and benefit from co-sponsored research projects and the chance to interact with others in a structured, neutral discussion space.
Jeffrey Kim, Director
INSER is a multidisciplinary institute focusing on improving education in and increasing awareness of the field of national security. As it creates new models for interdisciplinary teaching and learning on national security and intelligence issues, the institute is engaged in developing partnerships with key audiences that allow it to conduct and disseminate cutting-edge research on those areas. By expanding educational opportunities and researching how student cultural immersion experiences abroad influence the way students conduct research on, analyze, and interpret events in these countries, INSER is helping shape views of the role of intelligence in our democratic society. INSER also conducts research on a wide range of national security issues from building information management models for national intelligence agencies to studying the governing dynamics of terrorist organizations and agile models for organizing in volatile and complex environments (e.g. insurgency warfare).
Batya Friedman, Director
Value Sensitive Design refers to an approach to the design of technology that accounts for human values in a principled and systematic manner throughout the design process. The group's work is primarily concerned with values that center on human well being, human dignity, justice, and human rights. The Value Sensitive Design approach connects the people who design systems and interfaces with the people who think about and understand the values of the stakeholders who are affected by the systems. Current projects include long-term envisioning, privacy in public, sustainability, and value sensitive design methods. Ultimately, Value Sensitive Design broadens the goals and criteria for judging the quality of technological systems to include those that advance human flourishing.