About Me

I am a user interface designer and web developer with particular interest in interaction design and visualization. Currently, I work as as a member of the Data and Analytics Services Group at the National Energry Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), a division of Berkeley Lab. NERSC is the primary supercomputing center for researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratories.

I'm also fortunate to have the opportunity to teach Data Visualization and Communication for students in the online Master of Information in Data Science (MIDS) program at the UC Berkeley School of Information. In 2010, I earned a Master's degree in Information Management and Systems from that school, with a focus on human-computer interaction. Before returning to school, I developed web sites for the Advanced Light Source and the DOE Joint Genome Institute at Berkeley Lab. I also hold a B.S. in biomedical science and theater from the University of Michigan.

I Believe In . . .

Standards-based development

Following standards helps make applications accessible, usable, expandable, and adaptable. I represent Lawrence Berkeley Lab on the W3C Advisory Committee and helped author the Data on the Web Best Practices Recommendation.

User-centered design

Visualizations, whether for exploration or explanation, benefit from good user-centered design. Good designers give users what they want, and find out what they want by working with them throughout a project. The more I work with users, the more valuable I find their observations. I also see graphic design as an important part of usability as well as a defining aspect of the user's experience.

Accessibility

The web is for all of us, and making a site accessible is less work than most developers expect. Please build web sites that comply with Section 508 and the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Basic scientific research

Scientists working in basic research have the hardest time making the case for funding and recognition, mostly because the ultimate value of their work cannot be judged from the work itself, but from applications derived from it. Applied science (medicine, gadgets, energy production, etc.) would be nothing without basic science.

 

Avocations

Bicycling

I'm a serious cyclist and frequent tandem rider (both pilot and stoker). My husband and I once bicycled across the United States on a tandem, from San Francisco to Virginia Beach. These days, most of my tandeming is with friends from the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP), a wonderful group of athletes of all abilities.

Silent Movies

A lifelong lover of silent films, I am enthralled twice a year at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Between festivals, I recommend the Niles Essanay Film Museum.

Theater

I helped found Chicago's Theater Oobleck. "Won't look like rain, Won't look like snow, Won't look like sleet; That's all we know." Bring your thinking cap and your funny bone.

Dogs

My husband and I currenlty have two rescue dogs, Alma (probably a yellow lab/pit bull mix) and Bugsy (a Kenyan village dog who retired early from the Peace Corps).

Alma and me

Bugsy kicking back