Orit Shaer

oshaer (at) wellesley.edu
SCI E108
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA

Orit Shaer is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Wellesley College. Her research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), focuses on developing interaction techniques and software tools for next generation user interfaces. Orit received her PhD and MSc in Computer Science from Tufts University, where she worked with Professor Robert Jacob. She has been a visiting researcher in the Design Machine Group at the University of Washington and in the University College London Interaction Center. Previously, she served as a system engineer at Orbotech Ltd, where she led an interdisciplinary development team.

Orit is a member of ACM, IEEE Computer Society and ACM SIGCHI. Since 2007, she serves on the program committee of the international conference on Tangible and Embedded Interaction (TEI). She was also a co-organizer of the CHI 2008 workshop on User Interface Description Language for Next Generation User Interfaces. Orit is a recipient of the Clare Boothe Luce Professorship (starting Fall 2009).

Full CV

August 2008, I am co-editting an ACM TOCHI special issue on User Interface Description Languages for Next Generation User Interfaces, with Rob Jacob, Mark Green, and Kris Luyten. Submissions are due November 7th 2008.

July 2008, Our paper on Teaching Tangible Interaction in Practice will appear in AIEDAM Special Issue on Tangible Interaction for Design , Spring 2009.

CS 249 Topics in Computer Science: Human Computer Interaction (Spring 2009)

Human-Computer Interaction is one of the areas that have transformed the way we use computers in the last 30 years. Topics include methodology for designing and testing user interfaces, interaction styles (command line, menus, graphical user interfaces, virtual reality, tangible user interfaces), interaction techniques (including use of voice, gesture, eye movements), design guidelines, and user interface software tools. Students will design a user interface, program a prototype, and test the result for usability.
Prerequisite: 110 or 111.

CS 111: Computer Programming and Problem Solving (Spring 2009)

For Students
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Human Computer Interaction
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Women in Computer Science, NY Times, April 2007

Emerging interaction styles such as tangible computing, gesture-based interfaces and virtual reality, extend beyond the desktop paradigm and offer a more natural, intuitive and accessible form of interaction. With a broad range of application-domains, including scientific visualization, energy management and education, these interfaces show a potential to significantly enhance the way people interact and leverage digital information.

Through my research I seek to contribute to these next generation interfaces by developing frameworks, software tools and specification techniques that aid their design, implementation and evaluation. In addition I am exploring the benefits of next generation interfaces by building interactive systems that utilize emerging interaction styles.

A Visual Language for Specifying and Programming Tangible User Interfaces

Orit Shaer, PhD Thesis, Tufts University, August 2008.