What is HCI?

Human-Computer Interaction is fundamentally an interdisciplinary area. Throughout the world, however, most university faculty and programs in HCI are located in singular, insular departments (e.g., computer science, industrial engineering, psychology). The problems that the field seeks to address necessarily involve expertise in many disciplines, including anthropology, business, cognitive science, computer engineering, computer science, education, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, human factors, information science, management, psychophysics, cognitive and social psychology, science and technology studies, sociology, visual design, and systems engineering. The vision of the Center is to provide a forum for faculty from many HCI-related units to work together in developing a broad range of interdisciplinary research, education, and outreach.

More specifically, the objective of the center is to enhance the university's prominence in human-computer interaction by increasing the breadth of HCI research and scholarship in the university, by developing innovative education programs, and by reaching out to the HCI community at a global level.