I am currently working as an Assistant Professor at the College of Computer and Digital Media (CDM) at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.

Home of the Blue Demons!

My DePaul website is located at facsrv.cdm.depaul.edu/~cputnam

Research

Current areas of investigation (see more in the research area):

• HCI/UX professionals:

  In this work, we are investigating human-computer interaction (HCI) and user experience (UX) professionals. HCI a multidisciplinary field in which approaches for understanding end-user experience are rapidly evolving; specifically, we are exploring:
  
  • How professionals define their work, how definitions change over time and how definitions differ regionally and/or among companies;
  • Methods used to explore end-user goals, needs and desires, e.g., how accessibility is considered;
  • Methods used to communicate about end-users among different professional roles;
  • Differences among professionals that may be associated with how end-users are considered, including empathy and temperament differences among professional job roles
  .
  This project is funded by a DePaul University Research council grant.
  
  

• Motion-based gaming for brain injury rehabilitation:

  In this work, we are exploring the use of motion-based videogames (i.e., videogames for the X-Box Kinect, Nintendo Wii and Sony Move) for rehabilitation treatment with people who have suffered a brain injury. Our first goal is to build a recommendation and rating system prototype designed for physical therapists that currently use (or want to use) commercially available motion-based games in their practice. Commercially available motion-based games are an important part of therapy for people recovering from brain injuries. However, there are no tools that support therapists in making decisions about which commercially available consoles or games might work best for their patients.
  
  Other researchers have found that commercially available games and consoles are not suitable for many patients with brain injuries. While not in the scope of this current study, we are also interested in creating better motion-based games designed specially to support therapy for people recovering from brain-injury. We argue that the a recommender/rating system prototype will help better define the problem space and also provide a fertile source of ideas for new games in this domain. We are partnering with two local providers of care for people who have had a brain injury: (1) Anixter center and (2) Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital.
  
  This project is funded by a DePaul University Research council grant

Past research includes:

• Technology use and diffusion in Central Asia


• Attitudes and behaviors regarding water usage in the Andhra Pradesh region of India. This research was part of a consulting job for the Safe Water Project for PATH.


• Children with autism and their families/support structures

My most recent work in industry as a user researcher was with the Xbox/games group at Microsoft in 2010.

Teaching

I primarily teach in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) graduate program in the College of Computing and Digital Media at DePaul's downtown loop campus. Course titles have included "Inquiry methods and analysis", "Interaction Design" and "Design for disabilities". See the teaching area for more information.

Design

Before returning to school and attaining my PhD in Human-Centered Design & Engineering, I spent over 10 years as an industrial designer creating digital art, interaction design, video, and animations for a variety of delivery mediums and clients. See the design area for some work samples.