Stanford Seminar - Pushing the Boundaries of "Doing" Research Papers in Computing

May 3, 2024 Norman Makoto Su, UC Santa Cruz In computing, papers (conference papers or journal articles) are the primary means by which researchers disseminate new knowledge. Despite greater acceptance of alternative mediums to communicate research (e.g., blogs, podcasts) to a wider audience, academics are primarily judged by their peer-reviewed publications. We are incentivized to do innovative research but less so on innovative ways to communicate research. Lest we face the wrath of Reviewer 2, it is often safer to draw on established norms of writing to communicate research. In this talk, I describe a series of studies with colleagues that scrutinize how we "do" papers in two fields of computing: HCI and Computer Vision. I will also describe efforts to push the boundaries of what can be written, within the constraints of the (usually PDF) paper. Lastly, I will close on future directions for writing papers that have a more active and affective impact on their readers. About the Speaker: Norman Makoto Su is an Associate Professor of Computational Media in the Baskin School of Engineering at University of California, Santa Cruz. His research interests lie in human computer interaction (HCI) and computer supported cooperative work (CSCW). He directs the Authentic User Experience Lab (AUX Lab), where they integrate empirical and humanistic methods in HCI to study and design with subcultures. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER award to conduct research on data-driven technologies to support rural subcultures in the US. He has also received funding from HP Labs and Facebook. He has published in top venues such as CHI, CVPR, ToCHI, DIS, CSCW, ECSCW, HRI, and ICWSM. Norman received his Ph.D. in Information and Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine and a B.A. in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Previously, he was a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Information and Library Studies at University College Dubl