About Me
My Bio: I completed my BS in Industrial Engineering in 2006 from Northeastern University and after working as a facility design/layout consultant for the summer decided I wanted to specialize in Human Factors. I selected Bentley University’s MS+MBA program for its reputation in industry as well as the convenient location it offered (Waltham, MA) since I was living in South of Boston at the time. I completed my Master of Science in Human Factors in Information Design (HFID) as well as my MBA in 2008. During the 2 years I spent at Bentley I continued working as a facilities design/layout consultant and also branched out to information architecture, user interaction design, and usability test planning and moderation. I first worked on projects while working for Bentley’s Design and Usability Center and then began taking on freelance projects on my own for various clients like Big Fish Games (Seattle), Verizon Wireless and Staples (Framingham).
Based on my freelance work and failing to find a job that could meet my expectations for more than a year or so, I decided that I wanted to be on the fore-front of human factors so I decided upon SUNY at Buffalo to pursue my doctorate in Human Factors Engineering. So now I’m finishing up my second year of working towards my Ph.D. in Buffalo, NY (which happens to be where I was born). I am trying to focus my dissertation on ecological interface design by applying it to design guidelines for systems to support intelligence analysts. I’m also a research assistant working on a multi-university research initiative with the goal of combining hard (e.g., radar) and soft (e.g., human observations) information via a semi-automated data fusion process. My role on this project is attempting to a) quantify the error and bias associated with human observations (for example how accurate are we at estimating distance), and b) helping to define the human’s role in the semi-automated process. It should be fairly clear how my dissertation research also plays into this project as it is an extension of what the original project set out to do.
In addition to my schoolwork, I periodically take on freelance jobs when I find ones that interest me or that are willing to work with a flexible schedule.
Work: I am a firm believer in the concept of work to live and not live to work. As such I’ve found that I’m happiest doing consulting work or other freelance projects because I can take them on when I need the money. Northeastern’s Co-op program also infected me with a case of project A.D.D. because I can’t bear to do the same thing for longer than 6 months typically (there have been exceptions, but they are rare to say the least).
Hobbies: Xbox360, PS3, surfing (tough in Buffalo), riding around on my 1983 motorcycle (currently in need of repair), reading, tennis, soccer, wiffle ball, movies, NBC’s the Office, music, traveling, the Internet, snowboarding, classic Nintendo/Gameboy/Super Nintendo via my Dingoo A320 , BBQ’ing, Poker, and generally anything fun, outdoors, competitive or techie.
Affiliations: Here are some groups I’m connected to in some way or another. I find them/their publications interesting so maybe you will to?
Professional:
IIE – Institute of Industrial Engineers (Member, 2005-Current | Boston Chapter VP, 2007-2008)
UPA – Usability Professionals Association (Member, 2006-Current)
HFES – Human Factors & Ergonomics Society (Member, 2006-Current)
IDSA – Industrial Designers of America (Member, 2006-Current)
Former Academic Leadership Roles:
hFIDO – Bentley Human Factors in Information Design Organization (Founder & Director of Testing & Assessment, 2006-2008)
GSA – Bentley Graduate Student Association (Senior Vice President & Director of Operations, 2007-2008)
Northeastern University Chapter of Alpha Pi Mu (Vice President, 2005-2006)
Northeastern University Chapter of IIE (Student Member, 2003-2006)