Diane Gromala

Diane Gromala (born 24 February 1960) is a Canada Research Chair [1] and a Professor in the Simon Fraser University School of Interactive Arts and Technology.[2] Her research works at the confluence of computer science, media art and design, and has focused on the cultural, visceral, and embodied implications of digital technologies, particularly in the realm of chronic pain.[3][4]

In 1982 she received her bachelor's degree in graphic design and her Master of Arts degree from Yale University in 1990. From 1982-1990 she worked as art director for MacWorld and Apple.

Gromala was one of the first artists to work with immersive virtual reality, beginning with Dancing with the Virtual Dervish.[5] Co-created with Yacov Sharir in 1990 at the Banff Centre for the Arts' Art & Virtual Environments residency, this piece has been exhibited worldwide from 1993-2004. Subsequent immersive VR work was designed for stress-reduction and pain distraction during chemotherapy. Gromala's work is currently in use in over 20 hospitals and clinics.

Gromala is the founding director of the Transforming Pain Research Group, an interdisciplinary team of artists, designers, computer scientists, neuroscientists and medical doctors investigating how new technologies—ranging from virtual reality and robotics to social media—may be used as a technological form of analgesia and pain management.[6] With Jay Bolter, Gromala is the co-author of Windows and Mirrors: Interaction Design, Digital Art and the Myth of Transparency.[7] This book was written from her experience as the Siggraph 2000 Art Chair. Her work is widely published in the domains of Computer Science, Interactive Art and Design.

She lectures internationally and has published articles in her fields of research. She was a teacher at the University of Washington, where she headed the New Media Research Lab, at the University of Texas at Austin, in the graduate programme for information design at Georgia Tech's School of Literature, Communication and Culture, and at Simon Fraser University (SFU).[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Diane Gromala, CRC". Canada Research Chairs. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  2. ↑ Diane Gromala. "Faculty Website". http://www.siat.sfu.ca/. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  3. ↑ Barry Shell. "Virtual reality helps pain victims". Simon Fraser University. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  4. ↑ SFU News. "Dr. Diane Gromala - Beyond Pain". Youtube. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  5. ↑ Gromala, Diane; Sharir, Yacov (1993–2004). "Dancing with the Digital Dervish". Virtual Reality Art Work. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  6. ↑ http://www.confrontingpain.com/about-chronic-pain/
  7. ↑ Bolter, Jay David; Gromala, Diane (2003). "Windows and Mirrors: Interaction Design, Digital Art and the Myth of Transparency". Book. MIT Press. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  8. ↑ Gerda Breuer and Julia Meer., ed. (2012). Women in Graphic Design. Berlin: Jovis. p. 461, 463. ISBN 9783868591538.

Further Reading

External links