PhD - Human and computing interaction
I have multiple degrees. I earned a BA and MA in Anthropology, but never worked in the field. I also have a BASc in Computer Science, and I’ve spent the last 20 years working exclusively in computer science, engineering and technical management.
Why
did
you
choose
graduate
studies
and
why
did
you
choose
graduate
studies
in
CS?
I
chose
graduate
studies
because
I
was
interested
in
research,
and
possibly
teaching.
My
initial
plan
was
to
gain
some experience
and
work
towards
my
MMath,
but
I
love
it
enough
that
I’ve
switched
directly
into
the
PhD
program.
What
is
your
research
area
and
why
did
you
choose
it?
HCI.
I
have
a
number
of
interests,
but
most
focus
on
usability
and
interaction
of
computer
systems
-
making
technology
more
accessible
in
the
everyday
world.
We
do
a
great
job
of
designing sophisticated
and
powerful systems,
but
they’re
typically
too
complex
for
non-expert
users.
I’d
like
to
change
that.
Who
is
your
supervisor
and
why
did
you
choose
to
work
with
him/her?
I’m
co-supervised
by
Ed
Lank
and
Dan
Vogel.
A
friend
of
mine
had
taken
some
graduate
courses
with
Ed
and
found
him
really
engaging.
I
emailed
him,
and
we
met
for
coffee
and
talked
about
potential
research.
A
year
later,
I
started
in
the
graduate
program
with
him.
Dan
Vogel
was
really
engaged
and
helpful
with
my
master's
research,
so
when
I switched
to
PhD,
I
asked
them
to
co-supervise
me.
Why
did
you
choose
Waterloo
for
graduate
studies?
If
you
did
your
undergraduate
at
Waterloo,
why
did
you
stay?
UW
has
an
outstanding
computer
science
program.
I’ve
worked
with
a
large
number
of
UW
graduates
over
the
years,
and
I’ve
always
been
impressed
with
the
calibre
of the
program.
What
sort
of
research
are
you
working
on?
Or
what
assignments/projects
have
you
worked
on?
I’ve
focused
on
interaction
techniques
on
multitouch
devices:
suggesting
(and
evaluating)
ways
of
interacting
with
tablets
and
smartphones.
I’m
extending
this
to
multi-device
interactions
in
public
spaces
-
helping
your
smartphone
communicate
with
other
public
devices.
What
classes
are
you
taking?
What
has
been
your
favourite
class
so
far?
I’ve
taken
HCI,
AI
and
software
engineering
courses,
but
it’s
difficult
to
pin
a
“favourite”.
I’ll
be
taking
breadth
courses
next
year:
algorithms,
programming
languages
specifically.
Any
other
information
you'd
like
to
share?
My
situation
is
slightly
unusual,
in
that
I
worked
in
industry
for
20
years
before
returning
to
school.
I’m
married
with
a
five-year-old
son,
and
I
split
time
between
my
studies
and
time
with
my
family.
The
program
here
is
fairly
flexible,
and
allows
me
to
manage
family
life
much
more
effectively
than
a
nine-to-five
job
would.
I’m
happy
to
discuss challenges
of
work-life
balance,
or
returning
to
graduate
school
from
industry.