Overview
My research is in the interdisciplinary field of human-computer interaction, sitting primarily at the intersection of design, cognition, and visualization. In my work, I combine multiple human-centered methods and approaches in an attempt to understand the nature of professional practice in sociotechnical settings and to design artifacts and experiences to improve such practice. My approach to research is highly interdisciplinary, influenced by my diverse background and training in computer science, cognitive psychology, human-centered design, human factors, and user experience design.
I am currently focused on three research areas: (1) data visualization design practice; (2) macrocognition in complex sociotechnical settings; and (3) user experience for scientific cyberinfrastructure. See my research lab page for more information.
I also have an active interest in design pedagogy. I work with colleagues to study our own UX design program which we developed from scratch and have been teaching since 2015. We treat our program like a laboratory school, where we implement novel curricular models and study them.
Publications
For a list of publications, see my research lab publications page, my Google Scholar page, or my ResearchGate page.
Funding
My research is funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Purdue University. Since starting my faculty career at Purdue in 2015, I have been directly responsible for more than $2.2M in funding, as part of projects totaling more than $43M, and have been the recipient of an NSF CAREER award. As PI or Co-PI, I have received 7 external grants and 4 REU supplements in support of my research. See here for more details.