I am a PhD candidate in Stanford's Department of Communication, advised by Professor Fred Turner. 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, and have completed the requirements for a PhD minor in anthropology at Stanford. My current research explores the social meanings of new media technologies. My dissertation work involves the technological dreams engendered by the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project's "XO" laptop, particularly the tensions between the hopes of OLPC developers and realities of students, teachers, and parents. I am focusing on the pilot deployment of 9000 laptops in Paraguay and the country-wide deployment of 400,000 laptops in Uruguay. In collaboration with Nokia Research Center Palo Alto, I have also explored the socioeconomic divides in family practices and parent attitudes around communication and media technologies including computers, video games, mobile phones, and video conferencing in the United States.

I began my research career in human-computer interaction as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley and quickly became fascinated with the deeper social questions concerning technology that I encountered while working on ambient display research with Professors Jennifer Mankoff and Anind Dey (now at CMU). For my master's degree, I worked with Professor Nancy Van House and Yahoo! Research exploring the social meanings of new photographic technologies, particularly cameraphones and online photo-sharing. Other past research projects include technology and the city (with Intel Research), methods of technology evaluation (at the University of Washington), and the implications of technology in economic development discourse. I am also interested in other topics in science and technology studies, new media, gender studies, human-computer interaction, and design.

My research is at the crossroads of science and technology studies, anthropology, and human-computer interaction. I draw on a diverse skill-set in my research, from an understanding of computer science systems and theory to a sociological perspective on everyday life. My recent investigations particularly utilize ethnographic research methods, bringing a deep qualitative and critical perspective to human-computer interaction debates about the ways in which we make sense of the technologies in our everyday lives.

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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