Due to the increasing cost of Ph.D. students, decreasing funding rates, and current size of the ACE Lab, I will not be taking new Ph.D. students until, at the earliest, academic year 2026-2027.
UNIVERSITY of  WASHINGTON Information School Computer Science & Engineering
Jacob O. Wobbrock Professor, The Information School
By courtesy, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering
  Jacob O. Wobbrock, Ph.D.
The Information School
University of Washington
Box 352840
Seattle, WA 98195-2840   USA

 
 

Welcome!

I am a Professor of Information and, by courtesy, Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington (UW). My field is human-computer interaction (HCI) with a focus on mobile and accessible computing. I am a co-founder of the cross-campus DUB Group and the MHCI+D degree. I also direct the ACE Lab and am an Associate Director and former founding Co-Director of the CREATE center. My Ph.D. students come from information science and computer science.

I seek to scientifically understand people's experiences with interactive technologies, and to improve those experiences by designing, building, and evaluating new techniques and systems, especially for people with disabilities. My specific research topics include text entry, pointing, touch, and gesture; human performance measurement and modeling; HCI research and design methods; virtual reality; mobile HCI; and accessible computing. I consider myself an interaction designer, computer scientist, and experimental psychologist.

In 2010, I received an NSF CAREER award. In 2017, I was awarded the SIGCHI Social Impact Award. In 2019, I was inducted into the CHI Academy. In 2021, I was named an ACM Fellow for "contributions to human-computer interaction and accessible computing." I have received three lasting impact awards, one from ASSETS 2019, ICMI 2022, and UIST 2024.

I have also been an entrepreneur. In 2012, I co-founded AnswerDash—a SaaS company providing A.I.-powered context-sensitive help—where I was a venture-backed CEO for about three years. In 2020, AnswerDash was acquired by CloudEngage. My conversations with The New York Times and The Huffington Post capture some of my experiences as a startup CEO from academia.

See my full bio, curriculum vitae, faculty profile, Wikipedia page, ACM author page, or Google Scholar page.

ACE Lab logo Logo for CREATE, the Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences at the University of Washington. Icon is a person with a prosthetic arm holding a lightbulb. DUB logo

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