Francis Quek

Francis Quek performs research in human-computer interaction with a focus in aware and embodied interaction (including remote affective touch interaction, physically-based social tagging of information, assistive technologies for the blind, embodied systems for K-12 learning and creativity, embodied crowd simulation, multimodal discourse analysis, technology ecologies to support learning and knowing, and radical design methodologies), computer vision (human behavior analysis) and medical imaging. He came to Texas A&M University in 2013 and is director of the TAMU Embodied Interaction Lab (TEILab), which focuses on interaction research based on the premise that humans are embodied beings. Essentially, if the human mind is "designed" to function in a physical, spatial, temporal and social world, how do we account for such higher-level thinking as abstraction, learning, creativity, self-identity and motivation? For human-computer interaction research, our question becomes how one might design technology to support such higher-level functions around the principles of human embodiment. TEILab explores these questions with collaborators in a variety of areas, most prominently in human learning and creativity nurture, learning/reading support for individuals with blindness or severe visual impairment, multimodal analysis of human communication, and general human experience. He is a member of the IEEE and ACM. Quek is a professor of visualization in the School of Architecture at Texas A&M. He also directs the TAMU Embodied Interaction Laboratory (TEILab). He received a BSE summa cum laude and MSE in electrical engineering, and a Ph.D. CSE, all from the University of Michigan.