Gregory Dominic Abowd (born September 12, 1964) is a

computer scientist A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...

best known for his work in

ubiquitous computing Ubiquitous computing (or "ubicomp") is a concept in software engineering, hardware engineering and computer science where computing is made to appear anytime and everywhere. In contrast to desktop computing, ubiquitous computing can occur using a ...

software engineering Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term '' ...

, and technologies for

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

. He currently serves as the Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

. Previously he was the J.Z. Liang Professor in the School of Interactive Computing at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, where he joined the faculty in 1994.

Biography

Early life

Gregory Abowd was born in 1964 and raised in

Farmington Hills Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the affluent suburbs northwest of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Farmington Hills is the second most-populated city in Oakland County, after Tro ...

, a suburb of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

with a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Honors

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

in 1986. He attended the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, where he received his

M.Sc. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in 1987 and his

D.Phil. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1991, both in the field of

Computation Computation is any type of arithmetic or non-arithmetic calculation that follows a well-defined model (e.g., an algorithm). Mechanical or electronic devices (or, historically, people) that perform computations are known as ''computers''. An es ...

. He was a research associate from 1989 to 1992 at the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

and a postdoctoral research associate from 1992 to 1994 at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

. In 1994, he was appointed to the faculty at the

Research interests and achievements

Abowd's published work is primarily in the areas of Human-Computer Interaction,

Ubiquitous Computing Ubiquitous computing (or "ubicomp") is a concept in software engineering, hardware engineering and computer science where computing is made to appear anytime and everywhere. In contrast to desktop computing, ubiquitous computing can occur using a ...

Software Engineering Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term '' ...

, and

Computer Supported Cooperative Work Computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) is the study of how people utilize technology collaboratively, often towards a shared goal. CSCW addresses how computer systems can support collaborative activity and coordination. More specifically, the ...

. He is particularly known for his work in ubiquitous computing, where he has made contributions in the areas of automated capture and access, context-aware computing, and

smart home Smart or SMART may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014 * Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com * ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper * ''SMart'', a children's television seri ...

technologies. Abowd's research primarily has an applications focus, where he has worked to develop systems for health care, education, the home, and individuals with

. At Georgia Tech, he teaches in the School of Interactive Computing in the College of Computing. He is a member of the

GVU Center The GVU Center at Georgia Tech (formerly the Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center) is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary research center located near Technology Square (Atlanta), Technology Square in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Ge ...

and directs the Ubiquitous Computing and Autism and Technology research groups. Abowd was the founding Director of the Aware Home Research Initiative and is Executive Director of the Health Systems Institute at Georgia Tech. In 2008, he founded the Atlanta Autism Consortium, a group of researchers interested in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. He is one of the authors of ''Human-Computer Interaction'' (Prentice Hall), a popular human-computer interaction textbook. Abowd's contributions to the fields of Human-Computer Interaction and Ubiquitous Computing have been recognized through his numerous awards and extensive published work. In 2008, he was named a Fellow of the

Association for Computing Machinery The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional member ...

, one of the top honors for computer science researchers. Within the field of Human-Computer Interaction, he has been recognized at the CHI Conference, the most prestigious publication venue in HCI, as a top researcher through induction to the

CHI Academy The CHI Academy is a group of researchers honored by SIGCHI, the Special Interest Group in Computer–Human Interaction of the Association for Computing Machinery. Each year, 5–8 new members are elected for having made a significant, cumulative co ...

in 2008 and was awarded the Social Impact Award in 2007. He is also one of the most prolific authors in computer science and in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. In March 2016, Abowd was named the J.Z. Liang Professor in the School of Interactive Computing. In March 2021, Abowd became the Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at

Selected bibliography

* Kientz, J.A., R.I. Arriaga, and G.D. Abowd: Baby Steps: Evaluation of a System to Support Record-Keeping for Parents of Young Children. CHI 2009. * Hayes, G.R., L.M. Gardere, G.D. Abowd, K.N. Truong: CareLog: a selective archiving tool for behavior management in schools. CHI 2008: 685-694 * Kientz, J.A., G.R. Hayes, T.L. Westeyn, T. Starner, G.D. Abowd: Pervasive Computing and Autism: Assisting Caregivers of Children with Special Needs. IEEE Pervasive Computing 6(1): 28-35 (2007) * Patel, S.N., K.N. Truong, and G.D. Abowd. PowerLine Positioning: A Practical Sub-Room-Level Indoor Location System for Domestic Use. Proceedings of Ubicomp 2006. * Kientz, J.A. G.R. Hayes, G.D. Abowd, R.E. Grinter: From the war room to the living room: decision support for home-based therapy teams. CSCW 2006: 209-218 * Hayes, G.R., J.A. Kientz, K.N. Truong, D.R. White, G.D. Abowd, Trevor Pering: Designing Capture Applications to Support the Education of Children with Autism. Ubicomp 2004: 161-178 * Abowd, G.D., and E.D. Mynatt: Charting past, present, and future research in ubiquitous computing. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. 7(1): 29-58 (2000) * Abowd, G.D.: Classroom 2000: An Experiment with the Instrumentation of a Living Educational Environment. IBM Systems Journal 38(4): 508-530 (1999) * Abowd, G.D., A.K. Dey, P.J. Brown, N. Davies, M. Smith, P. Steggles: Towards a Better Understanding of Context and Context-Awareness. HUC 1999: 304-307 * Kidd, C.D. R. Orr, G.D. Abowd, C.G. Atkeson, I.A. Essa, B. MacIntyre, E.D. Mynatt, T. Starner, W. Newstetter: The Aware Home: A Living Laboratory for Ubiquitous Computing Research. CoBuild 1999: 191-198 * Abowd, G.D. C.G. Atkeson, J.I. Hong, S. Long, R. Kooper, M. Pinkerton: Cyberguide: A mobile context-aware tour guide. Wireless Networks 3(5): 421-433 (1997) * Abowd, G.D., R.B. Allen, D. Garlan: Formalizing Style to Understand Descriptions of Software Architecture. ACM Trans. Softw. Eng. Methodol. 4(4): 319-364 (1995)

References

External links

Abowd's personal home page

Georgia Tech Ubiquitous Computing Research Group

Georgia Tech Autism and Technology Research Group

Aware Home Research Initiative

Health Systems Institute

Atlanta Autism Consortium
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abowd, Gregory Living people American computer scientists Human–computer interaction researchers Georgia Tech faculty Ubiquitous computing researchers Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford 1964 births Carnegie Mellon University alumni Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters alumni People from Farmington Hills, Michigan Scientists from Michigan