My research combines computation and crowds to make novel deployable interactive systems, and ultimately solve hard problems in computer science. These systems combine machine learning and real-time crowdsourcing in domains like (i) access technology, (ii) interactive dialog systems, and (iii) support for crowd/gig workers. Much of my work focuses on accessibility because I see the field as a window into the future, given that people with disabilities are often the earliest adopters of AI.
I am an Associate Professor in the Human-Computer Interaction and Language Technologies Institutes in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. I also lead a Human-Centered Machine Intelligence Group at Apple, which works on research and applied projects in Accessibility, AI Fairness, ML Design, Learning Sciences, InfoVis, and Computational Understanding of UIs. I received my B.S.E degree in Computer Science from Princeton University in 2003, and received my Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Washington in 2009. I have received the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, the MIT Technology Review Top 35 Innovators Under 35 Award, and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award.
I was born and raised on a farm outside of Amanda, Ohio. I'm in the first generation in my family to go to college. I'm still learning to be a professor and a scholar, but I can help if you need to castrate a bull, pump a septic tank, or bale some hay. I got my moped license at 14. I hunt a mean morrel mushroom and know all the secret spots.
Find out more about me in my C.V. (academic resume) or on LinkedIn.