Brenda Laurel is a designer, researcher and writer whose work focuses on interactive
narrative, human-computer interaction, and the cultural aspects of technology. She
holds an M.F.A. and Ph.D. in theatre from the Ohio State University. Her career in
human-computer interaction spans over twenty-five years. In her early work at
Interval Research Corporation in Palo Alto, California, she coordinated research
activities exploring gender and technology, and co-produced and directed the
Placeholder Virtual Reality project. She was co-founder and VP/Design of Purple
Moon, which was later acquired by Mattel. In 1990 she co-founded Telepresence
Research, Inc. to develop virtual reality and remote presence technology and
applications. She was Senior Director and Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems
Labs in Menlo Park, California, and has worked as a software designer, producer, and
researcher for companies including Atari, Activision, and Apple.
Dr. Laurel is
currently Chair of the Graduate Program in Design at California College of the Arts,
and formerly served as Chair and graduate faculty member of the graduate Media Design
Program at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. She has
published extensively on interactive fiction, computer games, autonomous agents,
virtual reality, and political and artistic issues in interactive media. She has
authored numerous books including The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design [1990];
Computers as Theatre [1993]; Severed Heads; and a narrative of her start-up adventure
of "games for girls", Utopian Entrepreneur [2001]. Her most recent book is Design
Research [2004].
back to menu
|
|
|
Symposium Outline
|