I am a PhD candidate in Stanford's Department of Communication. I earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from UC Berkeley in spring 2004 and a Master's degree in Information Science from UC Berkeley in spring 2006.

I study the social meanings of technologies. I began my research career in human-computer interaction at Berkeley and quickly became fascinated with the deeper social questions concerning technology that I encountered there. In addition to communication and information science, I draw on science and technology studies, sociology, anthropology, and cultural theory to answer questions about the ways in which we make sense of technologies in our lives. I use a mixed-methods approach in my research, drawing on various research techniques as appropriate, though I find that qualitative methods are best for answering questions like this.

My dissertation work is on the social meanings of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project. My master's work was on the social meanings of new photographic technologies, particularly cameraphones and online photo-sharing.

Other research projects include ambient displays, technology and the city, methods of technology evaluation, and the implications of technology in economic development discourse. I'm also interested in other topics in science and technology studies, new media, gender studies, human-computer interaction, and design.

Current projects: the social meanings of OLPC hacker values in Constructionism OLPC impacts in the classroom OLPC's discourses around "development" technology and families perceived values of technology for kids video-calling in the home

Upcoming plans:

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