Computational Linguistics

As the role of computers and technology grows ever larger in our daily lives, industry increasingly seeks experts in the complicated intersection of technology and human language and machines.

Computational linguistics is an academic discipline that directly addresses this need, combining elements of linguistics, software engineering, artificial intelligence and electrical engineering to help machines process human language and help linguists understand language through computer models. Computational linguists apply their skills in the development of applications related to translation, voice recognition, automated text analysis, search engines and other pioneering technologies. Research in this field has an impact on a wide range of disciplines and different industries.

Human–Computer Interaction

HCI professionals study how people interact with computers and to what extent computers are developed for successful interaction with humans.

Today, few computer users actually read the manual accompanying the software, if one exists, and linguists and literacy workers are no exception. Users expect to understand the main functionality of a program within a few minutes of trying it. HCI provides designers with the principles, techniques, and tools necessary to design effective interfaces that are obvious and easy to use.

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See his design legacy at The Dartmouth Apologia and The Wheelock Conference.