Speaker Bios
Carol Barnum, Ph.D.
Carol Barnum is the director of the Usability Center at Southern Polytechnic and
a professor of information design and communication, where she teaches a graduate
course in usability testing. Usability Center clients include those in software,
hardware, websites, training, and documentation. The lab was established in 1993
via funding from an IBM Million Dollar Total Quality Management Grant. Barnum is
the author of numerous articles and five books, with the most recent book, Usability
Testing and Research, winning the top award publication award from the Society for
Technical Communication's international competition. She is a Fellow of STC, a recipient
of STC's Jay Gould Award for Excellence in Teaching Technical Communication, and
the lead author of an article that won a Distinguished Award in this year's STC
journal competition. An invited speaker at conferences around the world, this year
she has spoken in Montreal, Canada; Limerick, Ireland; Changchun, China; and Christchurch,
New Zealand.
Laura Vennie
Laura Vennie is a Senior Usability Specialist within Global Consumer Design at Whirlpool
Corporation. Laura joined Whirlpool in 2000 and currently provides usability and
human factors solutions to the Microwave category. Vennie has a Masters Degree in
Engineering from Purdue University and a Bachelors Degree from Michigan Technological
University.
Sara Ulius Sabel
Sara Ulius Sabel joined the Whirlpool usability team in January 2004 as a Usability
Specialist in the Fabric Care group. In this role, she is responsible for the user
interface design, interaction design, and human factors and usability research for
washers, dryers and related laundry products. She holds three degrees: a Bachelor's
degree in Psychology with a minor in Art and Design from California Polytechnic
State University, San Luis Obispo; a Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction
from the University of Michigan; and a Master's degree in Learning Technologies,
also from U of M. Prior to joining Whirlpool, Sabel's academic and professional
interests focused on utilizing technology and design to facilitate learning. As
an undergraduate, she worked with faculty members to design online course materials
to support art and architecture history courses and, while a graduate student, she
managed the online graduate programs for the University of Michigan's College of
Engineering. Sabel's past research includes internet navigation and wayfinding,
on-line collaborative and educational tools, and corporate professional development
programs. Sabel has experience with Web and database design and has developed educational
software tools and interactive multimedia museum exhibits for children.
Stephen Blosser
Stephen Blosser is the technical director and assistive technology design engineer
at the Artificial Language Laboratory, an assistive technology specialist at the
Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, and assistive technology design engineer
for the Michigan AgrAbilty Project - all at Michigan State University (MSU). Blosser
is also a rehabilitation engineer consultant for Michigan Rehabilitation Services
and has many affiliations including being a member of the Rehabilitation Engineering
Society of North America the Accommodating Technology Committee at MSU, and the
Michigan Association of Higher Education and Disability (MiAHEAD). Blosser graduated
in 1974 from Western Michigan University with a bachelor of science in mechanical
engineering.
Michael J. Hudson
Michael Hudson serves as Director of the MSU Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities.
His intensive focus on ability and skill development aids his quest for excellence
despite his own blindness. Hudson exclaims, "Disabilities need not limit achievement
they merely mandate a greater level of creativity, commitment and a repertoire of
compensatory techniques." As Director, He leads a team of 15 professionals, countless
volunteers and numerous part-time employees on a mission of maximizing ability and
opportunity for over 1,000 students and employees with disabilities. Collaboration
with campus and community partners solidifies his belief that, given the proper
team, nearly any problem can be overcome once identified and understood. Beyond
work, Michael lives a full and rewarding life. His Masters in university administration
and Bachelor’s in Psychology helped prepare him for a life of impact. His family
including a wife and two children enrich his perspective enhancing his care and
compassion for others.
Joseph A. Konstan, Ph.D.
Joseph A. Konstan is Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University
of Minnesota, where he teaches user interface design and HCI research to graduate
and undergraduate students. His research spans much of human-computer interaction,
including information mining and visualization and online survey research techniques.
He is probably best known for his work in collaborative filtering (the GroupLens
project). He is co-author of Word of Mouse: The Marketing Power of Collaborative
Filtering, a book that reviews three dozen good and poor examples of personalization
in research and deployed systems. Konstan received his Ph.D. from the University
of California, Berkeley in 1993. He is President of ACM SIGCHI, with over 4500 members
dedicated to advancing the science and practice of human-computer interaction. He
is an ACM Distinguished Lecturer and an IEEE Distinguished Visitor.
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