Shari Trewin

I am a researcher in human-computer interaction (HCI), specializing in accessibility. Most of us will experience age-related changes in our abilities as we get older. Most of us will experience sensory, physical or cognitive impairment at some time. Whether permanent or temporary, this is a normal part of human experience that technology can and should accommodate. My work explores tools, interfaces and techniques that accommodate human abilities and disabilities across our life span.

I am secretary/treasurer of ACM's SIGACCESS special interest group on accessible computing, and an ACM Distinguished Scientist. I am also prior chair of the Watson branch of IBM's HCI community, and served as general chair of ASSETS 2009: The 11th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility. I am Associate Editor of the journal, ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing. A while back I co-edited a series of five American National Standards on remote control of devices through generated user interfaces.

My background is in artificial intelligence and computer science, including intelligent tutoring systems and parallel programming. My Ph.D. research at the University of Edinburgh examined typing and mouse errors of people with motor impairments, and self-configuring keyboards. This work won the best student paper award at the ASSETS 1998 conference and formed the basis of IBM's Keyboard Optimizer tool for keyboard configuration support.

A native of Scotland, I enjoy windswept mountains and the climbing thereof, and (vegan) chocolate.