Elizabeth Mynatt
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Diane "Beth" Mynatt (born July 12, 1966) is Director of the GVU Center
at Georgia Tech; Associate Dean of Strategic Planning, College of Computing; and Professor
, School of Interactive Computing
, College of Computing at Georgia Tech. She was also the General Chair for the Association of Computer Machinery's Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2010) Conference.
She is best known for her research in the fields of human-computer interaction, ubiquitous computing
, health informatics
, and assistive technology
. She pioneered creating nonspeech auditory interfaces from graphical interfaces to enable blind computer users to work with modern computer applications. From 2001-2005, she was selected to be the Associate Director of the GVU Center
and in 2005 she was appointed Director. Her current research explores the implications and opportunities stemming from the pervasive presence of computation in the informal activities of everyday life.
. She attended North Carolina State University
for her undergraduate studies, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science
in 1988. She received a master's degree
in 1989 in Information and Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology
. Mynatt went on to receive a Ph.D.
at the Georgia Institute of Technology
in 1995 in Computer Science
where she was advised by James D. Foley
. Her thesis, "Audio GUIs: Transforming Graphical User Interfaces into Auditory Interfaces", was a system which transformed applications into auditory interfaces to enable people to experience what interacting with graphical interfaces might be like for a blind user.
Mynatt currently directs the GVU Center
at Georgia Tech. She also directs the research program in Everyday Computing, examining the human-computer interface implications of having computation continuously present in many aspects of everyday life. Themes in her research include supporting informal collaboration and awareness in office environments, enabling creative work and visual communication, and augmenting social processes for managing personal information. Dr. Mynatt is one of the principal researchers in the Aware Home Research Initiative; investigating the design of future home technologies, especially those that enable older adults to continue living independently as opposed to moving to an institutional care setting.
In home environments, she is interested in using computing technology to increase the independence and capabilities of people and families for domains such as chronic health care, aging in place, and cognitive prosthetics. In office environments, she is interested in supporting fluid collaboration practices by leveraging the integrated design of physical and digital spaces and services with social practices surrounding information sharing.
Mynatt has taught courses in Human-Computer Interaction, Everyday Computing, Mobile and Ubuquitous Computing, and Media Computation. For seven years (2000-2007) she played a leadership role in the design and management of two new programs: the Ph.D. in Human-Centered Computing
and the M.S. program in Human-Computer Interaction. For the HCC Ph.D. program, she co-chaired the first formative committee that charted the possibilities for a new human-centric Ph.D. program, and directed the HCC program from its inception until the Fall of 2006. She has published over 100 book chapters, conference publications, and journal articles in top tier locations such as ACM SIGCHI, CSCW, Ubicomp, and Pervasive.
Mynatt is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of ubiquitous computing and assistive technologies. She is a Sloan Research Fellow and her research is supported by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation
, including a five-year NSF CAREER award and a two-year IBM
Faculty Partnership Award. She was recently awarded a Google Research Award for studying individual approaches to management of diabetes and she has also received awards from IBM, NASA
, the NSF, and Siemens.Other honorary awards include the 2001 College of Computing's Junior Faculty Research award and the 2003 College of Computing's Dean's Award. Her work in healthcare has led to invited lectures at Google
, Cornell University
, and IBM Research
among others.
Mynatt served as program chair for CHI
2010, the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, as well as conference chair for ICAD, UIST, and Ubicomp. She has published dozens of scholarly articles in peer review
ed journals
and has given invited presentations at academic conference
s such as CHI and Ubicomp. She has over 80 publications in the ACM Digital Library with over 6,000 downloads in the past year. Her visionary article "Charting past, present, and future research in ubiquitous computing" has been cited over 900 times. She has been quoted in a number of major newspapers, including The Washington Post
, the Wall Street Journal, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Mynatt is a member of numerous academic journals and professional societies, including IEEE
and ACM
. She has held membership on a number of Georgia Tech committees, including the Dean Search Committee, the Dean’s Executive Council, the Graduate Committee, and Faculty Program Coordinator for the HCC PhD and MS HCI programs. She holds four patents for her work in user interfaces and audio systems.
).
GVU Center
The GVU Center at Georgia Tech is an interdisciplinary research center located near Technology Square in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and affiliated with the Georgia Institute of Technology. It was founded by James D. Foley, the Center's first director, on October 15, 1992. According to U.S....
at Georgia Tech; Associate Dean of Strategic Planning, College of Computing; and Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, School of Interactive Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology School of Interactive Computing
The School of Interactive Computing is an academic unit located within the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology . It conducts both research and teaching activities related to interactive computing at the undergraduate and graduate levels...
, College of Computing at Georgia Tech. She was also the General Chair for the Association of Computer Machinery's Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2010) Conference.
She is best known for her research in the fields of human-computer interaction, ubiquitous computing
Ubiquitous computing
Ubiquitous computing is a post-desktop model of human-computer interaction in which information processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. In the course of ordinary activities, someone "using" ubiquitous computing engages many computational devices and systems...
, health informatics
Health informatics
.Health informatics is a discipline at the intersection of information science, computer science, and health care...
, and assistive technology
Assistive technology
Assistive technology or adaptive technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them...
. She pioneered creating nonspeech auditory interfaces from graphical interfaces to enable blind computer users to work with modern computer applications. From 2001-2005, she was selected to be the Associate Director of the GVU Center
GVU Center
The GVU Center at Georgia Tech is an interdisciplinary research center located near Technology Square in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and affiliated with the Georgia Institute of Technology. It was founded by James D. Foley, the Center's first director, on October 15, 1992. According to U.S....
and in 2005 she was appointed Director. Her current research explores the implications and opportunities stemming from the pervasive presence of computation in the informal activities of everyday life.
Early life and education
Elizabeth D. Mynatt was born in Knoxville, TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. She attended North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
for her undergraduate studies, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
in 1988. She received a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1989 in Information and Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
. Mynatt went on to receive a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
in 1995 in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
where she was advised by James D. Foley
James D. Foley
James David Foley is a Professor and the Stephen Fleming Chair in Telecommunications in the School of Interactive Computing, and former Dean of the College of Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology from 2008-2010...
. Her thesis, "Audio GUIs: Transforming Graphical User Interfaces into Auditory Interfaces", was a system which transformed applications into auditory interfaces to enable people to experience what interacting with graphical interfaces might be like for a blind user.
Career
Upon graduation from Georgia Tech, Mynatt accepted a position as a member of the Research Staff at Xerox PARC. In 1995 she returned to Georgia Tech as an Assistant Professor and in 2002 became Associate Professor. From 2004-2005 she was Director of the Aware Home Research Initiative and from 2006-2007 was the Associate Director of the Health Systems Institute.Mynatt currently directs the GVU Center
GVU Center
The GVU Center at Georgia Tech is an interdisciplinary research center located near Technology Square in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and affiliated with the Georgia Institute of Technology. It was founded by James D. Foley, the Center's first director, on October 15, 1992. According to U.S....
at Georgia Tech. She also directs the research program in Everyday Computing, examining the human-computer interface implications of having computation continuously present in many aspects of everyday life. Themes in her research include supporting informal collaboration and awareness in office environments, enabling creative work and visual communication, and augmenting social processes for managing personal information. Dr. Mynatt is one of the principal researchers in the Aware Home Research Initiative; investigating the design of future home technologies, especially those that enable older adults to continue living independently as opposed to moving to an institutional care setting.
In home environments, she is interested in using computing technology to increase the independence and capabilities of people and families for domains such as chronic health care, aging in place, and cognitive prosthetics. In office environments, she is interested in supporting fluid collaboration practices by leveraging the integrated design of physical and digital spaces and services with social practices surrounding information sharing.
Mynatt has taught courses in Human-Computer Interaction, Everyday Computing, Mobile and Ubuquitous Computing, and Media Computation. For seven years (2000-2007) she played a leadership role in the design and management of two new programs: the Ph.D. in Human-Centered Computing
Human-centered computing
Human-centered computing is an emerging, interdisciplinary academic field broadly concerned with computing and computational artifacts as they relate to the human condition...
and the M.S. program in Human-Computer Interaction. For the HCC Ph.D. program, she co-chaired the first formative committee that charted the possibilities for a new human-centric Ph.D. program, and directed the HCC program from its inception until the Fall of 2006. She has published over 100 book chapters, conference publications, and journal articles in top tier locations such as ACM SIGCHI, CSCW, Ubicomp, and Pervasive.
Mynatt is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of ubiquitous computing and assistive technologies. She is a Sloan Research Fellow and her research is supported by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
, including a five-year NSF CAREER award and a two-year IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
Faculty Partnership Award. She was recently awarded a Google Research Award for studying individual approaches to management of diabetes and she has also received awards from IBM, NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, the NSF, and Siemens.Other honorary awards include the 2001 College of Computing's Junior Faculty Research award and the 2003 College of Computing's Dean's Award. Her work in healthcare has led to invited lectures at Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, and IBM Research
IBM Research
IBM Research, a division of IBM, is a research and advanced development organization and currently consists of eight locations throughout the world and hundreds of projects....
among others.
Mynatt served as program chair for CHI
CHI (conference)
The ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems series of academic conferences is generally considered the most prestigious in the field of human–computer interaction. It is hosted by ACM SIGCHI, the Special Interest Group on computer–human interaction. CHI has been held annually since...
2010, the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, as well as conference chair for ICAD, UIST, and Ubicomp. She has published dozens of scholarly articles in peer review
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
ed journals
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
and has given invited presentations at academic conference
Academic conference
An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
s such as CHI and Ubicomp. She has over 80 publications in the ACM Digital Library with over 6,000 downloads in the past year. Her visionary article "Charting past, present, and future research in ubiquitous computing" has been cited over 900 times. She has been quoted in a number of major newspapers, including The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, the Wall Street Journal, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Mynatt is a member of numerous academic journals and professional societies, including IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
and ACM
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
. She has held membership on a number of Georgia Tech committees, including the Dean Search Committee, the Dean’s Executive Council, the Graduate Committee, and Faculty Program Coordinator for the HCC PhD and MS HCI programs. She holds four patents for her work in user interfaces and audio systems.
Selected publications
- Charting past, present, and future research in ubiquitous computing with Gregory Abowd, (2000)
- The Aware Home: A Living Laboratory for Ubiquitous Computing Research (1999)
- Digital family portraits: supporting peace of mind for extended family members (2001)
- Increasing Opportunities for Aging in Place (2000)
Personal life
Mynatt is married to Blair MacIntyre. They have two children, Grace and William (nicknamed Buzz after the Georgia Tech mascotBuzz (mascot)
Buzz is one of the two official mascots of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Buzz is usually represented as a stylized yellowjacket with yellow-and-black fur, white wings, a yellow head, and antennae. He is almost never drawn with six legs, but rather with arms, legs, hands and feet , like a...
).