About me
I am a researcher in the fields of Human-Centered Computing (HCC) and Interaction Design. Specifically, As Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have entered new domains, so human-centered research communities have broadened the problems they consider and the experiences they investigate beyond the western, corporate world. My research examines these new contexts; particularly I investigate how culturally different religious groups appropriate ICTs for faith-related purposes. To do this I conducted fieldwork examining how megachurches, their leaders, and their laity in Atlanta, Ga., U.S., Nairobi, Kenya, and São Paulo, Brazil, use technology to support their faith inside and outside of worship services.
Currently, I am a fifth year doctoral candidate in the GVU Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology. My dissertation research investigates how culturally different religious groups adopt and use technology. This research is supervised by my amazing committee: Rebecca E. Grinter, Ph.D. (advisor), Elizabeth D. Mynatt, Ph.D., James D. Foley, Ph.D., Genevieve Bell, Ph.D. (Intel), and Jodi Forlizzi, Ph.D., (Carnegie Mellon).
In the past, I worked as a professional glassware designer for Libbey Inc. in Toledo, Ohio. I have also worked as a design researcher with Intel's User-Centered Design Group, Microsoft Research, Intel Research, and S.C. Johnson Inc.
Prior to coming to GaTech, I received a MS from Cornell University. During my time there I worked with Phoebe Sengers and the Culturally Embedded Computing Group. My undergraduate degree is in Industrial Design and History from Carnegie Mellon University.
Contact Information:
email: spwyche[at]cc[dot]gatech[edu]