Associate Professor of Computer Science @ James Madison University
Human–Computer Interaction researcher · CS educator · full-stack tinkerer · Harrisonburg, VA
Tass-le got flipped-turned right around, and I'd like to take a minute, just stand right there,
I'll tell you how I became a prof in a town way out here.
| 📍 Stop | 🎬 What went down |
|---|---|
| Charlotte, NC | Not born, but raised. Camping, cycling, hail marys after school, and one little website nobody cared about. |
| UNC Chapel Hill | B.S. Computer Science, 2007. Overcommitted, learned to cook, TA, and code. Got the degree anyway. |
| Industry | Racked up miles as a consultant on the road, plus stints at IBM, Red Hat, and Xerox. The work was rad; the 60–80 hour weeks were not. |
| Virginia Tech | Back to school: M.S. 2013, Ph.D. 2018 in CS. Got to teach, travel, research, and learn a ton. |
| James Madison University | Assistant Professor 2017–2024 → Associate Professor 2024–present 🎓 |
| Amazon | Front End Engineer, 2020–2021. |
I study interpersonal interaction mediated by technology: designing novel technological support for the subtle and delicate sociality of human relationships. A lot of that work happens in and around classrooms.
Interests: HCI · educational technologies · CS education · accessibility · assistive technologies · AI in CS education · AI in HCI · full-stack web · mobile
| Year | Work | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Algorithm Visualization: The State of the Field | ACM TOCE |
| 2014 | RaBit EscAPE: A Board Game for Computational Thinking 🐇 | IDC |
| 2019 | FamilySong: Designing to Enable Music for Connection and Culture in Internationally Distributed Families 🎶 | DIS |
| 2011 | ChairMouse: Leveraging Natural Chair Rotation for Cursor Navigation on Large, High-Resolution Displays 🪑 | CHI EA |
| 2018 | Designing Against the Status Quo | Interactions |
| 2018 | Co-Designing for Co-listening: Young People's Social and Music-Listening Practices 🎧 | SCSM |
| 2022 | Designing TA Training Programs for Broadening Participation | SIGCSE |
| 2024 | FTIR-SIS: A Fourier Transform Infrared Scientific Instrument Simulator 🧪 | J. Chem. Ed. |
Yes, I once worked with another researcher who made a chair into a mouse. Full list on Scholar and OSF.
| Course | |
|---|---|
| CS 149 | Introduction to Programming |
| CS 159 | Advanced Programming |
| CS 343 | Application Development |
| CS 347 | Full Stack Web Development |
| CS 447 | Interaction Design |
| CS 499 | Honors Thesis |
I want students from every background to find the corner of design and computing that lines up with what they already love. Office hours are on the CS wiki.
I look forward t' meetin' all y'all in the halls:
let's chat, learn, and play while we graduate all.
Lately on the turntables:
- 💬 thoughtswap-ts: widens and deepens participation in facilitated discussions by minimizing self-consciousness, social intimidation, and time pressure.
- 🍳 Tooling for Tandoor recipes, because a prof's gotta eat.
- 🎼 AuditionEar, room-planner, montage, and 360+ other public repos: class demos, experiments, and things I needed to exist.
Married with kids. We hike, bike, and travel, play video and board games, and hang out in town. Catch us at Bella's, Brown's, or Pueblo Mágico. We tip the staff, yo.
🎵 Play the full theme song: The Fresh Prof of Harrisonburg
Now, this is a story all about how
Tass-le got flipped-turned right around
And I'd like to take a minute
Just stand right there
I'll tell you how I became a prof in a town way out here
In Charlotte NC, not born, but raised
Out and about was where I spent most of my days
Camping out, kickin', cyclin', all cool
and all catchin' some hail mary afterschool
when a cool new device that was clicky and crude
started making ways t' my neighborhood
I published one little site and nobody cared
I said, I'm movin' on to college in Chapel Hill
I overcommitted and tanked my GPA
but I got my degree and a job that would pay
after learning to cook, TA, and code
I racked up miles as a consultant on the road
at first, it was rad
different cities, clients, and tech, and I was glad
is this what working consulting is like?
Hmm, this might be alright
but not 40, it's 60, 80 and all that
is this kinda life best for this cool cat?
i don't think so
i've seen what i can do
i'm gonna go back to school and get a PhD too
well grad school is "free", i found it fun!
i got to teach, travel, research, and learn a ton
i ain't trying to stay here forever, though
now married with kids, we're ready to go
we like to hike, bike, and travel around
play video and board games, and hang out in town
if anything we'd say for all y'all we care
so just hit me up when you see me in there
At Bella's, Brown's, and Pueblo Mágico
We love to dine and tip the staff, yo
I look forward t' meeting'
all y'all in the halls
let's chat, learn, and play while we graduate all
So just hit me up when you see me in there. ✌️