Julia Woodward was selected as a finalist for the Computing Research Association’s (CRA) Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award. Woodward was one of eight finalists from Ph.D. institutions, and the only students from the University of Florida to receive the honor for 2017.
Woodward is an undergraduate student pursuing her bachelor’s degree in digital arts and science in the UF Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering. Woodward said she hopes “this distinction will illustrate the importance of researching and working on technology for children.”
She is the lab manager and research assistant in the Intelligent Natural Interaction Technology Lab, which “focuses on advanced interaction technologies such as touch, speech and gesture, especially for children in the context of educational interfaces.”
One of Woodward’s current projects is Mobile Touch and Gesture Interaction for Children, which has been “investigating differences in touch and gesture interactions between children and adults, especially on mobile devices.” She is also working on co-designing intelligent interfaces with children, and analyzing how children’s movements differ from adults performing the same action.
“Being a finalist for the CRA Undergraduate Researchers Award is an amazing honor,” Woodward said. “I am very proud to represent the University of Florida, and the award illustrates the incredible research and hard work that is being accomplished at our university. I wouldn’t have been able to earn this award without the research opportunities for undergraduate students that UF offers and my research advisor Dr. Lisa Anthony.”
Woodward hopes to attend graduate school in Fall 2017 to continue her work on human-centered computing. She has applied to several universities including UF.
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