Steve Harrison
Location: (Blacksburg, VA)
Personal Research Web Page: http://people.cs.vt.edu/~srh/
Keywords: HCI, CSCW, design research, media space, theories of meaning-making
Posted on: Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Broad Research Area: HCI / CSCW
Research Interests:
My research is to apply the methods, lessons, and ways of seeing and acting of design to the realm of Human-Computer Interaction research. Design is a central element in my career: I study the practices of design, I have created tools for design collaboration, I am an architect (registered in California), and I am an award-winning designer. HCI is rapidly changing with new paradigms of technology and use, the only way to teach students for life-long adaptability is for them to understand how they can design the process of design.
This unique approach produced the seminal computer supported cooperative work system known as the media space and contributed to the development of a number of shared drawing tools, culminating in the Drawstream Station, all of which employ video in novel ways. Being a student of media, as well as design, has led to instrumental applications of media, most recently in developing exhibits and the overall program for “XFR: experiments in the Future of Reading”. These have been reported in numerous technical publications and conference proceedings, as well as the popular press. The studies of process and the technological interventions I’ve created have resulted in a number of novel insights; “RePlacing Space” (Harrison and Dourish, 1996) is an oft-cited paper on the behavioral framing of real and virtual space.
Building on this, I am currently (1) looking at how to integrate design thinking and practices into computer science; (2) developing theories of meaning-making with regard to power structures (e.g. design for marginalized populations, the role of cheats in on-line games, and gendered forms of technology); and (3) investigating domestic media spaces. I invite researchers to contact me about opportunities to pursue these areas.
Contact Information:
email: srh@cs.vt.edu phone: (540) 231-7783 mail: Steve Harrison Department of Computer Science and School of Visual Arts Virginia Tech 2202 Kraft Dr Blacksburg, VA 240060
