I am interested in relationship between information and agency in sociotechnical sites. I study sites and situations where human and technological agents interact or act upon each other because of information and information systems, especially robotics research laboratories and real-world robot deployments. I employ theoretical, qualitative, and sociotechnical methods in my work.

You can find my recent publications on Google Scholar and Academia.edu.

Agency and Information

I conduct theoretical and archival research on sites and situations where actions are taken because of information and information systems. I examine these phenomena empirically, theoretically, and technically. This includes work on:

This project began with my dissertation, which developed a framework for the analysis of certainty production in information systems, and applied that to the global sociotechnical endeavor of computational timekeeping.

Sociotechnical Robotics

As a Co-Lead of the Living and Working With Robots project at UT Austin, I am studying the rollout of robots on the UT Austin campus. Together with 10 other collaborators, I am applying a range of disciplinary perspectives and methods to the process of robotic design and research, the work of deploying and maintaining robots, and the effects these actions have upon the campus community. The project’s goal is to learn how the process of making and deploying technology impacts a community and how to enable technologists and community members to better understand and communicate with each other. Specific projects in this research theme include:

  • Mixed methods HRI/STS studies incidental encounters with quadruped service robots
  • Novel methodologies for studying real-world encounters with robots
  • The negotiated meanings of robots, domestic space, and the “real world” in the RoboCup@Home domestic service robotics competition
  • A multi-site, participatory investigation of progress in robotics research: what it is, where it happens, and how it’s accomplished

Living and Working with Robots is supported by Good Systems, a UT Grand Challenge.

Collaboration for Convergent Research

The National Science Foundation has identified convergent research as deeply interdisciplinary work that, from the outset, combines methods and perspectives to enable scientific innovation. I’m interested in understanding convergent researchers’ collaboration needs and developing tools to make them more successful. Projects in this theme include:

Current and past collaborators in this research include Keri Stephens, Samantha Shorey, Will Sutherland, and Mohammad Hossein Jarrahi.