Opportunities
One of the popular locations for student summer research is the Wellesley Science Center Summer Research Program. The application deadline for summer 2012 is around February. In order to apply for a summer project in the Wellesley College HCI laboratory, you need to have found a summer project at the laboratory under the supervision of Orit Shaer. We accept students from a variety of programs, with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Some recent students who have conducted research in Wellesley College HCI through the program are Consuelo Valdes '11 (Computer Science), Heidi Wang '12 (Computer Science), and Taili Feng '13 (Computer Science), Michelle Ferreirae '13 (Computer Science), Kelsey Tempel '13 (Computer Science, Kathy Liu '13 (Biology), Casey Grote '14 (Compuer Science & Physics).Academics
CS 220: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a rapidly expanding research and development area that has transformed the way we use computers in the last thirty years. The course introduces fundamental methods and design and programming principles and tools for interactive systems, covering topics such as usability and affordances, user-centered design, human cognitive and physical ergonomics, information and interactivity structures, etc. This course also studies recent developments in HCI including emerging interaction styles (e.g. mobile interaction, augmented-reality, tangible user interfaces, and ubiquitous computing) and a variety of interaction techniques (e.g. use of voice, gesture, and eye movements).CS 320: Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) emerged as a novel HCI style that interlinked the physical and digital worlds. Extending beyond the limitations of the computer mouse, keyboard and monitor, TUIs allow users to interact with digital information through natural movements and gestures, and offer an intuitive and collaborative interface to support activities such as learning, problem solving, design, and entertainment. Successful design depends on many factors including physical form, social settings, and aesthetics in addition to well-designed software and electronics. In the first part of the course, students will be introduced to conceptual frameworks of tangible interaction, the latest research, and a variety of techniques for designing and building TUIs. The second part of the course will be dedicated to a group project, in which students will work in teams to design and build a novel tangible user interface.