Leysia Palen is an American computer scientist known for her contributions to

human–computer interaction Human–computer interaction (HCI) is the process through which people operate and engage with computer systems. Research in HCI covers the design and the use of computer technology, which focuses on the interfaces between people (users) and comp ...

and

disaster informatics Disaster informatics or crisis informatics is the study of the use of information and technology in the preparation, mitigation, response and recovery phases of disasters and other emergencies. Disaster informatics or emergency involves increased u ...

. She is a professor of computer science, professor of information science, and founding chair of information science at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

. At Colorado, she directs a research project titled "Empowering the Public with Information during Crisis", and is co-director of the Center for Software & Society. She also holds an adjunct affiliation with the

University of Agder The University of Agder (), formerly known as Agder College and Agder University College, is a public university with campuses in Kristiansand and Grimstad, Norway. The institution was established as a university college (Scandinavia), univer ...

, and is a member of the

CHI Academy The SIGCHI Academy is a group of researchers honored by SIGCHI, the Special Interest Group in Computer–Human Interaction of the Association for Computing Machinery. Each year, 5–8 new members are elected for having made a significant, cumulative ...

Contributions

Palen's research involves searching for "ways in which we can communicate uncertainty and probability and risk to the public" and translating that information into recommendations on how disaster victims should respond. She has also studied the ways that people use

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

during disasters. According to Palen, the first uses of these platforms in these ways came during the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the sci ...

, and their use has become much more widespread since then. Her tips for using social media in emergency situations include being specific about locations and conditions, avoiding trying to remain emotionless and unaffected, and helping to gather and check information when not directly affected.

Education and career

Palen studied computer science and psychology at the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

from 1988 to 1989, and graduated in 1991 from the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

with a bachelor's degree in

cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...

. After working for two years for

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

, she returned to graduate study at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

, in what at that time was the Department of Information and Computer Science, earning a master's degree in 1995 and a Ph.D. in 1998. Her work in this time frame also included internships at

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

and

Xerox PARC Future Concepts division (formerly Palo Alto Research Center, PARC and Xerox PARC) is a research and development company in Palo Alto, California. It was founded in 1969 by Jacob E. "Jack" Goldman, chief scientist of Xerox Corporation, as a div ...

. Palen came to the University of Colorado Boulder as an assistant research professor in 1998, and moved to the regular-rank faculty there in 2004. She was promoted to full professor in 2015, the same year that she became founding chair of the Department of Information Science.

Recognition

In 2015, Palen won the

SIGCHI The Special Interest Group on Computer–Human Interaction (SIGCHI) is one of the Association for Computing Machinery's special interest groups which is focused on human–computer interactions (HCI). It hosts the flagship annual international H ...

Social Impact Award. Palen was elected to the

in 2016.

References

External links

Home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palen, Leysia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American computer scientists American women computer scientists University of California, San Diego alumni University of California, Irvine alumni University of Colorado Boulder faculty 21st-century American women