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Sara Kiesler
Hillman Professor of Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII)
Carnegie Mellon University

Advances in computing have made possible new kinds of collaboration, information exchange, and groups that were unheard of just twenty years ago. I apply behavioral and social science research methods and theory to understand these new phenomena, and the human factors dimensions of people's use of, and interactions with, technology. In my early studies with Lee Sproull and our colleagues and students, we learned how computer networking changed group dynamics and social interaction. Our book, Connections, described the indirect, secondary effects of using email in organizations.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Organization Science of Science:
With Jonathon Cummings, I am studying scientific work in teams, especially the shift to larger teams, and multidisciplinary and geographically-distributed research.

Collaboration:
With Susan Fussell, I am studying collaborative work in various other settings such as hospitals. Our ongoing work looks at collaborative analysis and how new technologies are making this better (or not).

The Project on People and Robots:
This project now focuses on human-robot interactions within a service delivery framework. See our website for recent papers and activities. I am the editor of a new journal, Human-Robot Interaction.

Online Communities
I am contributing to a book edited by Bob Kraut and Paul Resnick, and have an abiding interest in, applying concepts from basic research to the design of online communities. I also remain interested in the impact of how people use the Internet (see below, for example).

Health and the Internet
With Jen Mankoff, I am co-advising students who are studying how people with different chronic diseases use the Internet to obtain information, to manage their illness, and to advocate for public support.