¡Bienvenidos!
Welcome! I am a Professor of Software and Information Systems in the College of Computing and Informatics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Research
My research is in Human-computer interaction and Computer Science Education. Some areas that I have studied include personal information management, information refinding, tools for building interactive systems, digital libraries, use of computers for education, and cultural influence in interface design.
Teaching
In the Spring 2020, I am teaching the ITIS 4440 Interactive Systems Design and Implementation course. In the past, I have co-taught ITSC 1212 and ITSC 2214. In my previous academic positions, I often taught Intro to Media Computation, Data Structures, Programming Languages, and of course, numerous courses in Human-Computer Interaction (Intro to HCI, Usability Engineering, User Interface Software and Service Design).
Professional Service
I participate on a number of groups and organizations inside and outside of UNCC as part of my commitment to academic and professional service.
- I am participating in a committee at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine studying the Underrepresentation of Women of Color in Tech.
- I am a Faculty member of the Active Learning Academy 2019-2020 for the Center of Teaching and Learning, UNCC
- I am Graduate Faculty Fellow working to help implement the recommendations that were set forth by the Graduate Student Funding Task Force Report.
- President (2019-2020) of the Latinx Faculty/Staff Caucus at UNCC.
- At-Large Member of the Board 2019-22 for the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), board liaison for the Technical Symposium, and webmaster for the website.
- Member of the Board of Advisors for Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT (CMD-IT).
- Co-Founder of the Hispanics in Computing group and manage their listserv and website.
Recent Recognitions
I have been fortunate and honored to be recognized for my efforts to increase diversity in computing.
2020: I was selected to participate in the TEDx UNCCharlotte event that will take place in March 27th, 2020. Press release available here. The full list of speakers can be seen here.
2019: I was named ACM Distinguished Member for Outstanding Educational Contributions to Computing. Press release available here and here.
2018: I received the A. Nico Habermann Award from the Computing Research Association. The award is given annually to a person who has made outstanding contributions aimed at increasing the numbers and/or successes of underrepresented members in the computing research community.
2017: I received the Richard A. Tapia Achievement Award for Scientific Scholarship, Civic Science and Diversifying Computing, given annually to an individual who is a distinguished computational scientist, computer scientist or computer engineer and who is making significant contributions to civic areas such as teaching, mentoring, advising, and building and serving communities.
