The Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Irvine is pleased to announce the addition of seven new faculty in its three departments: Computer Science, Informatics, and Statistics.
RESEARCH TOPIC VIDEOS
Video of each new faculty members research topic presentation delivered, at the New Faculty Research Symposium held on November 3, 2008, is available for viewing on the Bren School's iTunesU site.
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
Michael Carey
Donald Bren Professor of Information & Computer SciencesResearch Areas:
Large-Scale Data Analysis: Information Access & Management / Databases / Information Infrastructure
Internet Technologies / ApplicationsDegree:
Ph.D. 1983, UC Berkeley
Michael
CareyMichael Carey joins UC Irvine from BEA Systems (now Oracle Corporation) where he was a senior engineering director and software architect. His distinguished academic career includes more than a decade as a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A National Academy of Engineering member, Michael is acknowledged as one of the 50 most influential computer scientists in the world. He is an ACM Fellow and in 2005, he received ACM’s SIGMOD Edgar F. Codd Innovations Award. Michael also has earned two of the most esteemed research publication awards in the field: the Very Large Data Base (VLDB) Conference’s 10-Year Best Paper Award in 1996, and the 2004 Test of Time Paper Award at the ACM SIGMOD International Conference.
He has authored more than 50 publications that have received more than 50 citations – a rare milestone for computer scientists. Additionally, 10 of those works have each achieved more than 200 citations.
DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATICS
James A. Jones
Assistant ProfessorResearch Areas:
Software Engineering
Degree:
Ph.D. 2008, Georgia Institute of Technology
James A.
JonesJames A. Jones is interested in improving the quality of software and the efficiency with which it is developed and maintained.
To this end, his research interests are in the areas of software analysis, testing, and visualization to enable software developers to fathom the complex interior workings of their software, specifically for finding and fixing software errors.
He earned a PhD in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology and is a member of ACM.
Yunan Chen
Assistant ProfessorResearch Areas:
Medical Informatics
Degree:
Ph.D. 2008, Drexel University
MD equivalent 2003, China Medical University
Yunan
ChenYunan Chen’s research interests are Medical Informatics and Human-Computer Interaction.
She is particularly interested in designing interactive systems to support clinical and translational research.
She earned her Ph.D. in Information Systems from College of Information Science and Technology, Drexel University.
She holds a Bachelor of Medicine degree from China Medical University. Yunan is a member of ACM, ASIST, AMIA and HIMSS.
Gary Olson
Donald Bren Professor of Information & Computer SciencesResearch Areas:
Human-Computer Interaction
Degree:
Ph.D. 1970, Stanford University
Gary
OlsonGary Olson comes from the University of Michigan where he was most recently the Paul M. Fitts Collegiate Professor of Human-Computer Interaction in the School of Information and former associate dean for research.
A member of the prestigious CHI Academy, Gary received the Association of Computing Machinery’s CHI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. Gary is also an ACM Fellow.
Gary has authored more than 100 published research articles and has dedicated his work to understanding how technology can support remote collaboration.
He has also made important contributions to the studies of management practice and the cultural aspects of collaboration, as well as the complex socio-technical issues surrounding technology design.
Judy Olson
Donald Bren Professor of Information & Computer SciencesResearch Areas:
Human-Computer Interaction
Degree:
Ph.D. 1969, University of Michigan
Judy
OlsonJudy Olson comes from the University of Michigan where she was most recently the Richard W. Pew Collegiate Professor of Human Computer Interaction and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Information. An inaugural member of the CHI Academy, Judy was also recognized with ACM’s CHI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.
Judy has focused her research on human interaction with computers, and achieved international acclaim for her studies that compared office workers in geographically distributed organizations to those working in the same location. She has published about 110 peer-reviewed research articles and is best known for her work on distance collaborations.
Judy holds joint appointments in the Paul Merage School of Business and the School of Social Ecology.
DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS
Babak Shahbaba
Assistant ProfessorResearch Areas:
Statistics and Biostatistics
Degree:
Ph.D. 2007, University of Toronto
Babak
ShahbabaBabak Shahbaba’s research focuses on developing Bayesian methods and applying them to real-world problems.
He is currently conducting research in three areas: (1) incorporating appropriate priors into statistical models in order to improve their performance, (2) developing new nonlinear models that are sufficiently flexible and provide interpretable results, and (3) applying novel statistical methods to solve research questions in genetics, genomics, proteomics, and cancer studies.
Jessica Utts
ProfessorResearch Area:
Statistics
Degree:
M.S. 1975, Ph.D. 1978, Penn State
Jessica
UttsJessica Utts’ interests include statistics education and applications of statistics to a variety of areas, most notably parapsychology, medicine, and transportation.
She is the recipient of two distinguished teaching awards, the author of three statistics textbooks with an emphasis on statistical literacy, and the editor-in-chief of an online statistics course.
She has published both critical and favorable reviews of research in parapsychology and in 1995 she was one of two experts who reviewed the previously classified US government research on “remote viewing” for the U.S. Congress.
She has appeared on numerous television shows, including Larry King Live, CNN Morning News and ABC Nightline.
Professor Utts is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and the Association for Psychological Science.
