Leon Lu The recipient of the 2024 Bill Buxton Dissertation Award, which is awarded to the best doctoral dissertation completed at a Canadian university in the field of Human-Computer Interaction, is Dr. Leon Lu.
Dr. Lu’s dissertation, Designing Assistive Technologies for Blind or Low Vision Music Learners, identifies the needs and preferences of blind and low vision (BLV) musicians and advances our understanding of how haptics can support the independence of BLV music learners and increase their participation in music culture. While collaborating with the Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg Music School in New York City, Dr. Lu conducted needfinding interviews with 40 BLV musicians and educators to understand the challenges BLV music learners face, the personal adaptations they use, and their perspectives towards technologies that assist with music learning. Motivated by these findings, he then conducted five co-design workshops to investigate how wearable devices and haptics could convey musical information to learners and provide them with real-time instruction. Building on the insights and outcomes from these co-design workshops, he then facilitated three ideation workshops and five co-design sessions to explore the fusion of haptics, sound, and music to simplify music reading and memorization. Then, with twelve music educators and students over a ten week period, he explored the use of vibration signals to increase the accessibility of non-verbal communication during music lessons.
In addition to identifying the learning challenges and personal adaptations made during BLV music learning, Dr. Lu’s dissertation identified specific vibration patterns and intensities that are best suited to communicate specific types of musical information. Furthermore, his use of Cognitive Load Theory enabled the challenges inherent in music reading and memorization to be classified into intrinsic and extraneous complexities. He also introduced novel design ideas that paired modalities with distinct needs to overcome these complexities. His dissertation findings will empower BLV music learners along their music learning journeys and provide a foundation for the HCI community to create tools and input methods to enable more inclusive music creation.
Dr. Lu received his PhD in Computer Science from the School of Information Technology at Carleton University under the direction of Dr. Audrey Girouard. His research seeks to understand how technology can be designed to positively impact marginalized and under-represented communities. His research has been published in several top-tier HCI venues including the ACM Conference on Human Factors and Systems (CHI) and the ACM Special Interest Group on Accessible Computing (SIGACCESS), and in the ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing journal. He has also received media attention for this research, appearing on CTV Morning Live, the CBC, and on the Accessible Media Inc. podcast. He was also the recipient of a Resident Research Fellowship in Interactive Media Arts from New York University, Shanghai. He is currently an Assistant Professor within the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology at the University of Toronto Mississauga and an Adjunct Professor in Digital Experience Design at George Brown College.
The Bill Buxton Dissertation Award was established with funding from an anonymous donor in 2011 in honour of Wiliam (Bill) Buxton, O.C., a Canadian researcher, designer, and musician who has promoted excellence in the field of Human-Computer Interaction within Canada and internationally. Bill challenges how academics and practitioners think, and he inspires them to do things differently. He is a true advocate for HCI.
The recipient of this award was determined through a juried process by a selection committee consisting of accomplished researchers in Human-Computer Interaction. This year, the jury included Dr. Pejman Mirza-Babaei (Ontario Tech University), Dr. Tamara Munzner (University of British Columbia), Dr. Sowmya Somanath (University of Victoria), and Dr. Michelle Annett (MishMashMakers), who served as chair.