January 2012

Rebecca Walton, PhD, Class of 2011

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Rebecca Walton received her PhD in Human Centered Design & Engineering in 2011 and was recently hired as Assistant Professor at Utah State University.

While at the University of Washington, Rebecca Walton and her advisor, Professor Mark Haselkorn, were guest editors of a journal special issue focusing on professional communication in humanitarian environments. Walton also worked with Professor Beth Kolko on a Central Asia project focusing on information and communication technology. Walton’s dissertation focused on the transition of technology-based development projects from exploratory research to long-term implementation.

According to Walton, one of the highlights of her doctoral work was conducting research abroad. She spent several months in Kyrgyzstan, working on a project with Mercy Corps to learn more about how micro-finance employees gathered and used information about their clients. Walton also spent time in India, collecting dissertation data and working with Microsoft Research. However, Walton notes, "A less flashy (but still momentous) highlight of my graduate studies was falling in love with teaching. When I applied to the PhD program, I knew that I loved conducting research, and I was focused on humanitarian work from the beginning. But I hadn't taught before and was surprised to find that I love teaching and wanted to pursue an academic career."

Walton was hired as an assistant professor at Utah State University in 2011. Her appointment is in the Technical and Professional Communication program in the English department. The program offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in technical communication, which was one of the reasons Walton wanted to work there. "I love teaching undergraduates, but I also wanted to work with graduate students on research projects. Working in a program that includes all three degrees provides a wonderful range of opportunities."

Walton is currently teaching an undergraduate course in document design and graphics and a course in professional communication technologies. Regarding her research, Walton has been focusing on publishing from her dissertation work and other research she conducted at the UW.

Walton is also working with a graduate student on a project involving healthcare for resource-constrained communities in Utah and working on a new project to amplify care-giving for youth heads of household in Rwanda. She's hoping to partner with local communities in Utah to build relationships that can support long-term research directly benefiting community members.

Improving the Traceability of Coffee

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Stephen Vick spoke to an overflowing room about traceability systems for coffee.In a room packed with nearly 60 attendees, the HCDE 521 Winter 2012 Lecture Series took off with a great start by discussing one of the things that Seattle loves most— coffee. Stephen Vick, a 2001 UW graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE), presented an overview of his involvement with coffee supply chains in developing countries. He explained how data tracking systems have been implemented to benefit the overall process. Such technologies aim to improve four major aspects within the field: sustainability, traceability, transparency, and food security.

To get an understanding of the traditional coffee farming practices, Vick started off by explaining the step-by-step process of coffee production. From picking to fermenting, cleaning to roasting, Vick explained that a lot of the information relating to the different steps of the process is difficult to manage for the farmers themselves. It is rare for many of these countries to have detailed reports or a system that is able to record the steps. Since tracking is important for farmers, more efficient systems must be implemented.

"What's most exciting is that there are still a lot of situations where sites have been doing everything wrong for a hundred years. The technology is also so young that there's a lot of room for improvement."

—Stephen Vick

The Relationship Information Tracking System (RITS) is the first of the systems that Vick introduced to his audience. RITS serves as a traceability program that provides a simple interface for users with limited computer experience. Beyond data tracking, it also contains useful features such as educational videos to show good practices. Cropster.org and TechnoServe are two other traceability systems that Vick brought up during his presentation. Both of these applications also provide efficient information exchange, and also utilize unique ways to record data. TechnoServe, for example, has the capability to use SMS as a simple way for farmers to upload information from their mobile phones. Vick has worked with all three systems in the past and explained that while they make the process more efficient for farmers, they are also beneficial for consumers. The traceability systems allow consumers to be more aware of how their coffee is made, making a big difference for all of those involved in the coffee supply chain.

Stephen Vick's "Traceability Systems for Coffee Farmers: A Key to Sustainability and Food Security" presentation is part of a 10-week seminar focused on current issues in Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE 521). To learn more, visit the HCDE 521 Lecture Series site.

CSC Lab Honored by CSCW 2012

Friday, January 6, 2012

Professor Jennifer Turns Research Featured in Prism Magazine

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) Professor Jennifer TurnsHCDE Professor Jennifer Turns and CQUniversity Australia senior research project officer Matt Eliot recently had a paper they published in the Journal of Engineering Education featured in Prism, a publication of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Their NSF-funded research used portfolio construction as a context to investigate the following questions:

  • How do students build their identities as professional engineers while learning about the roles and responsibilities related to professional engineering practice?
  • By what process does this identity construction occur, and how can we as educators more effectively guide it?

In their study, Turns and Eliot investigated professional identity construction in engineering undergraduate students by asking them to construct cross-curricular portfolios featuring examples of their best work to date.

The article is based on a paper published in the Journal of Engineering Education in October 2011.