Keynote 2 - Robert E. Kraut

Prof. Robert E. Kraut is the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Human-Computer Interaction in the School of Computer Science and Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and one of the founding members of CMU's Human-Computer Interaction Institute. Previously he was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University and a research scientist at Bell Laboratories and Bell Communications Research. Professor Kraut is a social psychologist with broad interests in the impact of computing and telecommunications on individuals, groups and organizations and ways to design them to improve human lives.  He has conducted empirical research on online communities, the social impact of the Internet, the design of information technology for small-group intellectual work and related topics.  Starting with his HomeNet project, he has spent over 15 years conducting research to understand how people’s use of technology influences their psychological well-being and personal relationships. His research on online communities combines careful empirical studies of communities with interventions and design ideas to improve them. This approach is illustrated in his book with Paul Resnick, Building Successful Online Communities: Evidence-Based Social Design.  His most recent research focuses on ways to improve productivity and creativity in online production.