CHAPEL HILL, NC, April 3, 2008 – A two-day, invitation-only workshop at Duke University’s R. David Thomas Executive Conference Center will bring together a select group of thought leaders from government, industry and academia to develop a guiding vision and cross-cutting research agenda for human-computer interface and interaction design over the next decade.
The workshop, titled “The Future of Human-Computer Interaction for 21st Century Discovery” is sponsored by an award from the National Science Foundation and will be held April 24 and 25. Marilyn Lombardi, director of RENCI at Duke, said the meeting is designed to encourage researchers to think about new, more intuitive ways for people to interact with their machines using cutting-edge interactive interfaces and tools for real-time exchanges of data.

“Today’s graphical user interfaces—windows, icons, mice and other pointing devices—were first developed in the 1960s and they haven’t changed much,” said Lombardi. “Better tools for interacting with data are out there. This meeting will be a first critical step in moving toward more collaborative, intuitive, human-computer interactions that have the ability to change how research is done and make science come alive for students and the general public.”

The workshop will involve computer scientists, engineers and experts in robotics, artificial intelligence, the cognitive sciences, psychology, neurobiology, architecture, design, and the interactive arts. They will address key questions in the field, including: Where do we want to be by the year 2018? How do we plan on getting there in a scalable and sustainable fashion? What are the major trends in the field? Which forces are driving change? What impedes further progress?

The workshop results will be captured in a report and disseminated to the NSF and the constituent communities.

RENCI…Catalyst for Innovation
The Renaissance Computing Institute brings together teams of talented researchers, engineers, technologists and leaders in government, business, the arts and humanities to attack major research questions and community issues in ways that accelerate discovery and drive innovation. RENCI has nationally significant expertise and capabilities in high performance computing, visualization, collaborative tools, networking, device prototyping, and data systems as well as engagement sites across the state. Founded in 2004 as a major collaborative venture of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina, RENCI is a statewide virtual organization.  For more, see www.renci.org.