02-03-04

HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION PIONEER WILL SPEAK AT ISU FEB. 9

AMES, Iowa -- Brenda Laurel, a Silicon Valley veteran and pioneer in the area of human-computer interaction, will speakat 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 9, in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union at Iowa State University. Laurel will share herexperiences as one of the few participants in all of the significant computer tech revolutions--games, multimedia,virtual reality and dot coms.

Laurel is chair of the graduate media design program at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. An innovatorworking at the intersection of design, culture and technology, she is known for introducing humanistic values intocomputer-based media.

Laurel's 2001 memoir, "Utopian Entrepreneur," details the rise and fall of her start-up venture, the groundbreakinggirls' software company, Purple Moon.

Laurel has worked since 1976 as a software designer, producer and researcher for Atari, Activision, Epyx and Apple. Shewas a founding member of the research staff at Interval Research Corporation, where she coordinated research activitiesexploring gender and technology. Her 1986 doctoral dissertation was the first to propose a comprehensive architecturefor computer-based fantasy and fiction.

Laurel's lecture is a College of Design 25th Anniversary Lecture. It is sponsored by the College of Design, the Collegeof Business, the Virtual Reality Applications Center and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by the Governmentof the Student Body. For more information on the lecture, contact the Lectures Program, (515) 294-9934. Moreinformation on the College of Design's Silver Anniversary celebration, which features notable speakers and specialexhibitions throughout the year, is available athttp://www.design.iastate.edu.

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