Jessica Hammer is an assistant

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

and a game designer.

Early life and education

Hammer, who was a finalist in the

Regeneron Science Talent Search The Regeneron Science Talent Search, known for its first 57 years as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, and then as the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) from 1998 through 2016, is a research-based science competition in the United St ...

, attended the Maimonides School, in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

. She is the daughter of

Michael Martin Hammer Michael Martin Hammer (April 13, 1948 – September 3, 2008) was born in Annapolis, Maryland. Hammer was a Jewish-American engineer, management author, and a former professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ...

. She earned her B.A. in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, her MS from the NYU Interactive Telecommunications Program and her Ph.D. 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 ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where she developed the game design course sequence and was a founding member of the

Teachers College Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

EGGPLANT game research laboratory.

Career

Hammer's research focuses on the psychology of games, focusing on the way specific game design decisions affect how players think and feel. While a graduate student at Columbia, Hammer helped create Lit, a mobile game designed to help individuals quit smoking. Hammer has worked on video games for the

National Institute of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Servic ...

and for

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

. She also spent time in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, working with local partners to create game clubs that help girls acquire the social capital and the skills they need to solve their problems for themselves. In 2014 she was selected as a

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

Young Scientist. In his 1998 book, ''Why We Don 't Talk to Each Other Anymore: The De-Voicing of Society,'' biolinguist John L. Locke discusses the research produced by Hammer as a young researcher working with

Simon Baron-Cohen Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen (born 15 August 1958) is a British clinical psychologist and professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. He is the director of the university's Autism Research Centre and a Fellow of ...

. According to Locke, Baron-Cohen and Hammer found that the parents of individuals with Asperger's syndrome did less well than the general population on tasks involving the interpretation of emotional status of others by looking at the expression of their eyes, and better than the general population at identifying shapes embedded within complex designs. Since 2014, Hammer's recent projects include exploring

live action role-playing games A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters.(Tychsen et al. 2006:255) "LARPs can be viewed as forming a distinct category of RPG because of two unique featur ...

as a potential avenue for improving mental or physical health, and conducting research on how games may reduce opioid abuse after work-related injuries. Currently, Hammer works as an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University, jointly appointed between the HCI Institute and the

Entertainment Technology Center The Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) is a department at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located at the Pittsburgh Technology Center. The ETC offers a two-year Masters of Entertainment Technology ...

. She teaches courses related to Game Design and Learning Media. Jessica Hammer started the OHLab with Amy Ogan along with their students, staff, and colleagues. The lab works at the intersection of culture, learning, play, and design in order to create brand new interactions and experiences. Through games, educational technologies, and new frameworks of interaction, the lab pushes on the edges of learning, empathy, and social empowerment. Hammer co-designed the 2022

tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...

Rosenstrasse Rosenstrasse (or Rosenstraße) is a street in Berlin. Rosenstrasse may also refer to: * Rosenstrasse protests, street protests, Berlin, 1943 * ''Rosenstrasse'' (film), 2003 film by Margarethe von Trotta * ''Rosenstrasse'' (game), 2022 historical i ...

References

External links

Hammer's personal homepageHammer's CMU home pageHammer's OHLab
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammer, Jessica American computer scientists American women computer scientists Human–computer interaction researchers Harvard University alumni Human-Computer Interaction Institute faculty Indie role-playing game designers Living people Carnegie Mellon University faculty New York University alumni Columbia University alumni Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)