Curriculum Vitae

Michael Wu, PhD

BIO

Mike Wu is Chief Technology Officer of an emerging tech startup company called Loupe. He received his Ph.D. and M.Sc. from the University of Toronto under the supervision of Professor Ron Baecker. In collaboration with neuropsychologists from Baycrest hospital, Mike designed innovative mobile technology with and for persons with severe amnesia. Mike previously worked at IBM Research and Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories. While his research touches on a broad range of topics, including mobile devices, novel interaction techniques, collaboration technologies, memory aids, and educational games, Mike is also interested in design techniques, user studies, experimental design, contextual inquiry, interviewing and observation, and web data analytics. His research often seeks to understand the underlying psychological and social principles that govern human behaviour in order to better design compelling technology to fulfill unmet needs. He holds two patents and has published over a dozen academic papers and book chapters.

Connect via LinkedIn: Mike Wu
Or tweet me: @_mikewu
EDUCATION

The University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
Ph.D. Computer Science
Area: Human-Computer Interaction
Thesis: Memory Aids as Collaboration Technology
 Supervisor: Dr. Ron Baecker
The University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
M.Sc. Computer Science
Area: Human-Computer Interaction
Thesis: The Participatory Design of an Orientation Aid for People with Amnesia
 Supervisor: Dr. Ron Baecker
The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
B.Sc. Computer Science
Program: Cooperative Education
PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE
 
Loupe, Vancouver, BC
 
Aug 2010
to present		 Chief Technology Officer
 
Baycrest, Toronto, ON
 
Sept 2004
to Sept 2008		 Technology Consultant, Contracts
Supervisors: Dr. Brian Richards, Dr. Eva Svoboda, Dr. Kelly Murphy, and Dr. Guy Proulx
  • Led participatory design sessions and design reviews with stakeholders to identify user needs, validate requirements, and iterate through the design cycle
  • Developed C++ mobile software to assist neuropsychologists, clients with severe memory deficits, and clients with mild cognitive impairment
  • Designed a distributed multi-user system in Java and Basic for families coping with amnesia
  • Conducted ethnographic observations and user studies of computer systems
IBM T.J. Watson Research Centre, Cambridge, MA
 
Jun 2005
to Aug 2005		 User Experience Designer/Research Intern, Collaborative User Experience Research Group
 Supervisors: Dr. Michael Muller (IBM Watson) and Dr. John Tang (IBM Almaden)
  • Gathered data from informants on how they performed shared activities in an office setting
  • Analyzed informants’ data to determine how shared activities can be represented in activity-centric computing systems
  • Filed 5 patents on various collaborative technologies
Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Cambridge, MA
 
May 2003
to Aug 2003		 Interaction Designer/Research Intern, DiamondSpin team
 Supervisors: Dr. Chia Shen and Dr. Kathy Ryall
  • Developed interaction and visualization techniques for touch-sensitive computational tables
  • Designed, coded, and tested novel shape-based gesture recognition engine in Java
  • Integrated new gesture engine into DiamondSpin Java tabletop toolkit for programmers
University of Toronto, Department of Computer Science, Toronto, ON

Sept 2002
to May 2003		 Teaching Assistant, for CSC318F Design of Interactive Computational Media
Supervisor: Dr. Ron Baecker
  • Mentored students in multi-stage term projects in designing interactive computer systems
  • Led tutorials as well as graded student assignments and exams
  • Presented usability design principles to class as guest lecturer
University of British Columbia, E-GEMS, Vancouver, BC

Aug 1999
to Sept 2002		 Research Assistant, Contracts
 Supervisor: Dr. Maria Klawe
  • Led a programming team of undergraduates in developing multi-user educational game in C++
  • Designed multithreaded game and networking components, performed unit/integration/system testing, and documented code
  • Tested prototypes in elementary schools and carried out experimental study
Jan 1999
to Aug 1999		 Research Intern, Avalanche team
 Supervisor: Dr. Maria Klawe
  • Designed system architecture and user interface in Java for multi-user educational game
  • Coded game components and supervised usability evaluations in elementary schools
  • Held game demonstrations for faculty, visiting scholars, and media
Electronic Arts Canada, Burnaby, BC

May 2001
to Aug 2001		 Software Developer Intern, MVP Baseball team
Supervisor: Dan Brady
  • Developed novel pre-production tool that enabled computer animators to see and change their content in early builds of the game
  • Programmed camera and communication game systems in C++
Radical Entertainment, Vancouver, BC

May 2000
to Dec 2000		 Software Developer Intern, Foundation Technology team; Wireless Internet team
Supervisor: Michael Sturrock
  • Programmed platform-independent libraries in C++ for game teams, e.g. controller system
  • Developed auto-generated Makefile system to build games using either Linux or Windows
  • Created interactive data-driven web applications for cellular phones in Java and SQL
Templeton Park Pool, Vancouver, BC

Aug 1997
to Jan 2000		 Swimming Instructor and Lifeguard
Supervisor: Debra Graham
  • Provided leadership by teaching classes of children (aged 3 to 15) various swimming techniques, theories, and safety lessons
  • Monitored swimmers and maintained public relations during swims at the aquatic facility
  • First aid training certification
Vancouver Formosa Academy, Vancouver, BC

Sept 1995
to Feb 1999		 Teaching Assistant
 Supervisor: Dr. Cary Chien
  • Marked and organized math curriculum for a private math school
  • Tutored elementary and high school students in math, physics and calculus

PUBLICATIONS

Refereed Conference Full Papers and Notes
  
1. Mike Wu, Ron Baecker, and Brian Richards. (2010). Field Evaluation of a Collaborative Memory Aid for Persons with Amnesia and their Family Members, in Proceedings of ACM SIGACCESS 2010 Conference on Computers and Accessibility, Orlando, Florida. 51-58. [Acceptance rate: 31%]
 
2. Mike Wu, Abhishek Ranjan, and Khai N. Truong. (2009). An Exploration of Social Requirements for Exercise Group Formation, in Proceedings of CHI 2009 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems , Boston, Massachusetts. 79-82. [Acceptance rate: 24.5%]
 

3.

 Mike Wu, Jeremy Birnholtz, Brian Richards, Ronald Baecker, and Mike Massimi. (2008). Collaborating to Remember: A Distributed Cognition Account of Families Coping with Memory Impairments, in Proceedings of ACM CHI 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computer Systems, Florence, Italy. 825-834. [Acceptance rate: 18%]
 

4. Mike Massimi, Ronald Baecker, and Michael Wu. (2007). Using Participatory Activities with Seniors to Critique, Build, and Evaluate Mobile Phones, in Proceedings of ACM SIGACCESS 2007 Conference on Computers and Accessibility, Tempe, Arizona. 155-162. [Acceptance rate: 31%]
 


5. Mike Wu, Chia Shen, Kathy Ryall, Clifton Forlines, and Ravin Balakrishnan. (2006). Gesture Registration, Relaxation, and Reuse for Multi-Point Direct-Touch Surfaces, in Proceedings of IEEE Tabletop 2006 Conference on Horizontal Interactive Human-Computer Systems, Adelaide, South Australia. 183-190. Video (MOV, 54Mb)
 


6. Michael Wu, Ronald Baecker, and Brian Richards. (2005). Participatory Design of an Orientation Aid for Amnesics, in Proceedings of ACM CHI 2005 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Portland, Oregon. 511-520. CHI 2005 Best Paper Award Nominee [Acceptance rate: 25.0%, Nomination rate: 5.1%]
 
7. Clifton Forlines, Chia Shen, Frédéric Vernier, and Mike Wu. (2005). Under My Finger: Human Factors in Pushing and Rotating Documents Across the Table, in Proceedings of IFIP TC.13 Interact 2005, Rome, Italy. September 2005. 994-997.


8. Michael Wu, Brian Richards, and Ronald Baecker. (2004). Participatory Design with Individuals who have Amnesia, in Proceedings of PDC 2004 Participatory Design Conference, Toronto, Canada. July 2004. 214-223. [Acceptance rate: 36%]
 

9. Michael Wu and Ravin Balakrishnan. (2003). Multi-Finger and Whole Hand Gestural Interaction Techniques for Multi-User Tabletop Displays. ACM CHI Letters, 5(2). 193-202. ACM UIST 2003 Symposium on User Interface Software & Technology, Vancouver, Canada. November 2003. 193-202. Video (MPEG, 80Mb) [Acceptance rate: 21.6%]
 
10. James Dai, Michael Wu, Jonathan Cohen, and Maria Klawe. (2003). PrimeClimb: Designing to Facilitate Mediated Collaborative Inquiry, in Proceedings of CSCL 2003, Bergen, Norway. June 2003. Kluwer Academic Publishers: 31-35.
   
Book Chapters and Magazine Articles


11. Chia Shen, Kathy Ryall, Clifton Forlines, Alan Esenther, Frédéric Vernier, Katherine Everitt, Mike Wu, Daniel Wigdor, Meredith Ringel Morris, Mark Hancock, and Edward Tse (2008). Collaborative Tabletop Research and Evaluation. Interactive Artifacts and Furniture Supporting Collaborative Work and Learning. Pierre Dillenbourg, Jeffrey Huang, and Mauro Cherubini (Eds). Springer. ISBN 978-1441945815. (Dec. 2008), 111-128.

12. Mike Wu (2008). Lifelong Interactions: Memory impairment is a family affair. Interactions. 15, 5 (Sep. 2008), 21-23.


13. Mike Wu, Ron Baecker, and Brian Richards (2007). Designing a Cognitive Aid for and with People who have Anterograde Amnesia, in (ed) Jonathan Lazar, Universal Usability, John Wiley & Sons. 317-356.

Refereed Journal Articles


14. Chia Shen, Kathy Ryall, Clifton Forlines, Alan Esenther, Frédéric D. Vernier, Katherine Everitt, Mike Wu, Daniel Wigdor, Merrie Ringel Morris, Mark Hancock, and Edward Tse. (2006). Informing the Design of Direct-Touch Tabletops, Special Issue of IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 26 (5), 36-46. Sept/Oct, 2006.

Refereed Conference Work-in-Progress Papers

15. James Dai, Michael Wu, Jonathan Cohen, Troy Wu, and Maria Klawe. (2002). Toys to Teach - Mathematics as a Collaborative Climbing Exercise, in ACM SIGGRAPH 2002 Conference Abstracts and Applications, San Antonio, Texas. July 2002. ACM Press: 117-119.
15. Jonathan Cohen, James Dai, Michael Wu, Troy Wu, and Maria Klawe. (2002). Promoting Peer-to-Peer Discourse for Collaborative Mathematics in Canadian Grade 7 Classrooms, in Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2002, Denver, Colorado. June 2002. AACE: 325-326. ED-MEDIA 2002 Outstanding Paper Award.
17. Jonathan Cohen, James Dai, Michael Wu, Troy Wu, and Maria Klawe. (2002). Sharing Toys on the Electronic Playground: Documenting Collaborative Classroom Interactions, in Proceedings of CATE 2002, Cancun, Mexico. May 2002. IASTED: 38-42.

Workshop Papers

Mike Wu (2006) Collaborative Memory Technology for Supporting the Care Network, position paper accepted to Designing Technology for People with Cognitive Impairments at ACM CHI 2006 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

Michael J. Muller and Michael Wu. (2005) Multiple Users' Perspectives of Collaborative Activities in Complex Work, position paper accepted to Computer Support for Human Activity workshop at ECSCW 2005 European Computer Supported Collaborative Work.

Mike Wu. (2004) Memory Aids as Collaboration Technologies, position paper accepted to Distributed Collective Practices workshop at ACM CSCW 2004 Computer Supported Collaborative Work.

Jonathan Cohen, James Dai, Michael Wu, Troy Wu, and Maria Klawe. (2002) PrimeClimb: Collaborations in Context, position paper accepted to Documenting Collaborative Interactions workshop at CSCL 2002 Computer Supported Collaborative Learning.
Doctoral Colloquium

Mike Wu (2006) Memory Aids as Collaboration Technology, in Conference Supplement of ACM CSCW 2006 Computer Supported Collaborative Work, 49-50.

Posters, Abstracts, and Demos

Mike Wu (2009) Family-Link: A Calendar System for Families Coping with Amnesia, demo at NECTAR Annual General Meeting 2009, Calgary, Alberta.

Michael Wu, Ron Baecker and Brian Richards (2007) A Study of People with Amnesia and their Caregiver Networks, poster at FICCDAT 2007, the Festival of International Conferences on Caregiving, Disability, Aging and Technology. Caregivers: Essential Partners in Care.

Mike Wu (2006). Memory Aids as Collaboration Technology, poster at ACM CSCW 2006 Computer Supported Collaborative Work.

Non-Refereed Contributions

Michael Chi Hung Wu. (2010). Memory Aids as Collaboration Technology. Ph.D. dissertation, Graduate Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto.
Michael Wu (2007). Trip Report from UIST 2006. SigCHI Bulletin, 39 (1), January 2007
Michael J. Muller and Michael Wu (2005) How Much is Shared in a Shared Activity? IBM Collaborative User Experience Technical Report, #05-11.
Michael Chi Hung Wu. (2004). The Participatory Design of an Orientation Aid for People with Amnesia. M.Sc. dissertation, Graduate Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto.
Wesley Wong and Michael Wu. (1997). Think-a-Dot and Mathematics, Vector: Journal of the British Columbia Association of Math Teachers, Summer Edition, 1997. 57-62.
AWARDS

2009

Robert E. Lansdale/Okino Computer Graphics Graduate Fellowship
2008 NSERC Scholarship
2007 NSERC Scholarship
2007 Ontario Graduate Scholarship (declined)
2006 HCTP Doctoral Fellowship
2005 HCTP Doctoral Fellowship
2004 2 Special Recognitions awarded for exceptional paper reviews
2004 Wolfond Scholarship
2003 Ontario Graduate Scholarship
2002 University of Toronto Fellowship
2002 ED-MEDIA Outstanding Paper Award
2002 Canadian New Media Awards Graduate of the Year Finalist
2002 Ambassadors Certificate of Recognition
1998-2001 Dean's Honour List
2001 Student Services Leadership Certificate
1998 Golden Key International Honour Society Membership
1997 Outstanding Student Initiative Scholarship
1997 British Columbia Provincial Scholarship
1997 Killarney Community Centre Society Service Scholarship
ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

2014 Paper Reviewer, DIS 2014 (1 paper)
2014 Conference Program Committee, Chinese CHI 2014
2014 Paper Reviewer, CHI 2014 (2 papers)
2013 Paper Reviewer, ITS 2013 (1 paper)
2013 Paper Reviewer, UIST 2013 (2 papers)
2013 Paper Reviewer, CHI 2013 (5 papers)
2013 Paper Reviewer, CSCW 2013 (1 paper)
2012 Article Reviewer, Review of Philosophy and Psychology (1 article)
2012 Paper Reviewer, UIST 2012 (1 paper)
2012 Paper Reviewer, CHI 2012 (3 papers)
2011 Conference Program Committee and Best Paper Aware Committee, ASSETS 2011
2011 Paper Reviewer, ASSETS 2011
2011 Paper Reviewer, CHI 2011 (2 papers)
2010 Paper Reviewer, ITS 2010 (2 papers)
2010 Article Reviewer, Transactions on Accessible Computing (1 article)
2010 Paper Reviewer, ASSETS 2010 (2 papers)
2010 Paper Reviewer, CHI 2010 (1 note)
2009 Paper Reviewer, Ubicomp 2009 (1 paper; 1 note)
2009 Paper Reviewer, CHI 2009 (1 paper; 3 WIP)
2008 Paper Reviewer, CHI 2008 (1 paper)
2008 Paper Reviewer, CSCW 2008 (1 note)
2007 Student Volunteer Co-chair, UIST 2007
2007 Poster Reviewer, ECSCW 2007 (4 posters)
2006 Paper Reviewer, CHI 2006 (1 paper)
2006 Article Reviewer, International Journal of Human Computer Studies (1 article)
2006 Student Volunteer, Conference Reporter, UIST 2006
2006 Paper Reviewer, CSCW 2006 (1 paper)
2006 Student Volunteer, CHI 2006
2005 Article Reviewer, International Journal of Human Computer Studies (1 article)
2005 Paper Reviewer, CHI 2005 (3 short papers)
2004 Student Volunteer, CSCW 2004
2004 Article Reviewer, IEEE CG&A (1 article)
2004 Paper Reviewer, UIST 2004 (3 papers)
2004 Paper Reviewer, CSCW 2004 (4 papers)
2004 Paper Reviewer, CHI 2004 (2 papers)
2003 Paper Reviewer, UIST 2003 (1 paper)
2002 Member, Toronto Region's special interest group on Computer-Human Interaction (ToRCHI)

TALKS and WORKSHOPS

Mar 2012

University of British Columbia, guest lecture in Advanced Methods for Human-Computer Interaction CPSC 444, Vancouver, British Columbia
Can you Refresh my Memory? Helping People who have Amnesia Remember with their Families Through Technology
   
Mar 2011

University of British Columbia, guest lecture in Advanced Methods for Human-Computer Interaction CPSC 444, Vancouver, British Columbia
Field Evaluation of a Collaborative Memory Aid for Persons with Amnesia and their Family Members
   
Oct 2010

ASSETS 2010 paper presentation, Orlando, Florida
Field Evaluation of a Collaborative Memory Aid for Persons with Amnesia and their Family Members
   
Apr 2008

CHI 2008 paper presentation, Florence, Italy
Collaborating to Remember: A Distributed Cognition Account of Families Coping with Memory Impairments
   
June 2007 FICCDAT 2007 talk, Toronto, Ontario
A Study of People with Amnesia and their Caregiver Networks

Nov 2006 AP Research Group, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia

Oct 2006 Ontario College of Art & Design, guest lecture in Virtual Communities, Toronto, Ontario
The Participatory Design of Memory Aids for Amnesics

Apr 2006 CHI 2006 workshop on Designing Technology for People with Cognitive Impairments, Montreal, Quebec
Collaborative Memory Technology for Supporting the Care Network

Dec 2005 HCTP Seminar, Toronto, Ontario
Memory Aids as Collaborative Technologies

Nov 2005 Ontario College of Art & Design, guest lecture in Virtual Communities INTR 3B01, Toronto, Ontario
A Case Study in Amnesia and Design

Apr 2005 Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care KLARU Rounds talk, Toronto, Ontario
Towards the Design of Electronic Memory Aids and Other Cognitive Prostheses

Apr 2005 Intel Research talk, Portland, Oregon
Towards the Design of Electronic Memory Aids and Other Cognitive Prostheses

Apr 2005 CHI 2005 paper presentation, Portland, Oregon
Participatory Design of an Orientation Aid for Amnesics

Nov 2004 CSCW 2004 workshop on Distributed Collective Practices, Chicago, Illinois
Memory Aids as Collaboration Technologies

July 2004 PDC 2004 paper presentation, Toronto, Ontario
Participatory Design with Individuals who have Amnesia

May 2004 Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care Behavioural Neurology Rounds talk, Toronto, Oregon
Towards the Design of Electronic Memory Aids

Nov 2003 UIST 2003 paper presentation, Vancouver, British Columbia
Multi-Finger and Whole Hand Gestural Interaction Techniques for Multi-User Tabletop Displays

June 2003 CSCL 2003 paper presentation, Bergen, Norway
PrimeClimb: Designing to Facilitate Mediated Collaborative Inquiry

May 2003 TorCHI talk, Toronto, Ontario
Towards the Design of Electronic Memory Aids

July 2003 sigKIDS at SIGGRAPH 2002 demo, San Antonio, Texas
Toys to Teach - Mathematics as a Collaborative Climbing Exercise

May 2002 CATE 2002 paper presentation, Cancun, Mexico
Sharing Toys on the Electronic Playground: Documenting Collaborative Classroom Interactions

Mar 2002 UBC Science Undergraduate Research Showcase talk, Vancouver, British Columbia
Promoting Peer-to-Peer Discourse for Collaborative Mathematics in Canadian Grade 7 Classrooms

Mar 2002 UBC ASI Exchange 2002 demo, Vancouver, British Columbia
Electronic Games for Education in Math and Science

Jan 2002 CSCL 2002 workshop on Documenting Collaborative Interactions, Boulder, Colorado
PrimeClimb: Collaborations in Context

MEDIA

Online The Future is Here: Memory and the Machine, Baycrest Breakthroughs, 2008, online article. (pdf)
 
Mar 2008 Rempel, Shauna. Help to find the way, The Toronto Star, March 20, 2008. L7. (pdf)
 
May 2005 CBC The National, television exclusive about innovative Baycrest-Palm rehab program to help people with severe amnesia regain their independence, televised on May 13, 2005.
Online Patients with severe memory loss given brighter future with palmOne handhelds, PalmOne website, online article. (pdf)
Apr 2005 Learning how to remember, Baycrest Annual Review 2004-05. 15-17. (pdf)
Apr 2005 Breakthrough could help thousands with amnesia, Baycrest Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 3, April 2005. 2. (pdf)
Dec 2004 Abraham, Carolyn. Marooned in the moment, The Globe and Mail, December 6, 2004. F1,F4-F5. (pdf)

Dec 2004 Bluespon, Edward. Memories and the 'forgettery', The Globe and Mail, December 6, 2004. A2.
May 2004 Discovery Channel Science Program video, this 10 second clip offers a glimpse of our two-handed gestures, produced during the WIRED Magazine NextFest'04 held in May 2004 in San Francisco, CA.
Mar 2003 Flaherty, Lorraine. The virtual watercooler: Around the community, KMDiary, Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2003.
May 1997 Bermingham, John. Teens math wizards, The Vancouver Province, Thursday, May 1, 1997.
UNDERGRADUATE ADVISING

Nick Hoang, Psychology (Fall 2008 & Winter, Spring, Summer 2009)
Lei Wu, Computer Science (Summer & Fall 2007)
Irina Ivanova, Computer Science (Summer & Fall 2005)
UNDERGRADUATE COLLABORATORS
Serena Kao (Transcriber)
Viktoryia Urukova (Graphic Designer)
Clarissa Mak (Transcriber)
Amal Yousaf (Transcriber)
Bernice Gordon (Graphic Designer)
Anahita Panthaky (Programmer)



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