Whether explicitly or implicitly, travel has been a major inspiration for my research and design work. I was fortunate to spend a year as a Fulbright scholar in Brisbane , Australia. I have interned twice in the Socio-Digital Systems group at Microsoft Research Cambridge, UK. I sorely miss the kangaroos, bush turkeys, and possums from the former and the cask ales from the later. I moved to Pittsburgh in the September 2009 to start my PhD at CMU in the HCI institute. I continue my interest in international research collaborations as a Banting Fellow based in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia and also as a Design United Visiting Researcher in the Netherlands.
In May ’08 I completed a Masters degree in Human-Computer Interaction Design at Indiana University Bloomington. In April '08 I won the CHI student research competition for some of my work across these areas. Soon after finishing my Masters in July '08, my colleague David Roedl and I won the interface design competition of the 2008 Microsoft Imagine Cup in Paris, France.
The intro to one of several orchestral scores I penned in theory class.
I also enjoy a range of other activities when I’m not working on projects. I have devoted a significant amount of time to creative musical endeavors. Beginning with classical guitar in middle school and now through electronic music production. I’ve performed and composed music ranging from European Art to Blues to Hip-Hop to East African Shona seculars. I've also been known to consume copious amounts of espresso. I contribute espresso-oriented terms to the urban dictionary.