Curriculum Vitae
http://lap.umd.edu/lap/People/benjamin_smith
March 13, 2008
Address
Laboratory for Automation Psychology
3111 Biology-Psychology Building
University of Maryland, College Park
College Park, MD 20742
301-405-5938
Profile
I am a doctoral student at the University of Maryland, College Park. I study Cognitive Psychology and Human-Computer Interaction in the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science program. I am seeking employment or a paid internship beginning in summer 2008.
Education
Doctoral student, University of Maryland, College Park, MD – 2002-Present
I study Cognitive Psychology in the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science program. My advisor is Dr. Kent Norman. I work at the Laboratory for Automation Psychology, which is part of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab.
Bachelor of Science, Brown University, Providence, RI – 1996-2000
My concentration was in psychology, focusing on animal behavior and learning.
Research Interests
I am interested in Human-Computer Interaction and in Cognitive Psychology. The challenge of Human-Computer Interaction is to create clever interfaces that enable people to make the most of their abilities, particularly cognitive abilities. The challenge of Cognitive Psychology is to understand these abilities; this is accomplished in part by creating clever computer interfaces.
My specific interests include the psychology of information visualization for high-dimensional and spatiotemporal data, how people learn about and make inferences about relationships, survey research, and web-based research.
Publications and Presentations
Norman, K. L., & Smith, B. (2006, November). Judgments of functional relationships in systems of three variables. Paper presented at the Psychonomic Society, Houston, TX.
Smith, B. K. (2005, June) Multiple Small Choropleth Maps: An Information Seeking and Display Tool. Poster session presented at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab Symposium and Open House, College Park, MD.
Smith, B. K. (2006, June) Comparing Choropleth Maps: A pilot study on the usability of Multiple Small Maps. Poster session presented at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab Symposium and Open House, College Park, MD.
Zhao, H., Smith, B. K., Norman, K., Plaisant, C., & Shneiderman, B. (2005). Interactive Sonification of Choropleth Maps. IEEE MultiMedia 12 (2) 26-35.
Experience
Teaching Assistant, University of Maryland – 2003-present
I teach lab and discussion sections for introductory, statistical, and research methods classes for the department of psychology.
Researh Psychologist, United States Census Bureau – Summer 2007
I conducted usability testing on web sites, and worked on survey development, web development, and performed data analysis during a summer internship in the Statistical Research Division.
Web design and development, University of Maryland – 2005-present
I have worked on several web pages, including the Department of Psychology web page (http://www.bsos.umd.edu/psyc) and the Field Committee in Developmental Science web page ( http://www.devsci.umd.edu/).
Data Analyst, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ – 1998 and 2002
I designed and implemented a Java-based system to help the Teaching Excellence Center analyze Course evaluations for the University more efficiently.
Research Assistant, University of Maryland – 2002-2003
I assisted Dr. Kent Norman in designing and running experiments.
Research Assistant, DATACORP, Providence, RI – 2001-2002
I designed research instruments, developed web sites, collected and analyzed data, and administered the computer network at this social science research firm.
Consultant – 1997-2001
I collected and analyzed survey data for museums and cultural institutions including the American Museum of Natural History, Guggenheim Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Skills
Java, web development including Dreamweaver
Data analysis using SPSS and Excel
Interface evaluation and design