Dr. Maria Karam

Dr. Maria Karam received her B.SC. (Hons.) degree at the University of Toronto, and  PhD degree at the University of Southampton, specializing in the field of human computer interactions. Currently a Post Doctoral Fellow at Ryerson University in Toronto, Maria is also the founder and director of the Coffee Lab, a public usability research facility that is situated within a coffee shop in Toronto.

Her research focus is in domain of entertainment interfaces and devices that challenge the traditional computing paradigms by using alternative sensory information displays and input modalities to create new interactive experiences. These include gesture-based computer interactions, tactile displays, and sensory substitution interfaces like the Emoti-Chair.

Dr. Karam is currently developing a hybrid usability evaluation approach for bringing new technologies in the early prototyping stages to the public domain, where they can be experienced and evaluated by many potential users. She is also continuing to develop her work on the model human cochlea, a sensory substitution approach to bringing sound to the tactile senses.

For details, see: http://www.ryerson.ca/~m2karam/