Dr John N A Brown
| Post Nominals | PhD PhD DottRic |
|---|---|
| Biography | John recently left his career as a consulting researcher for Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon, and others to join Robert Gordon University as a lecturer and research group leader. Author or co-author of three books with Springer, and articles in the Bloomsbury Encyclopaedia of Design, the Salem Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Society, and numerous journals across several fields, Dr Brown has lectured at universities, conferences, industry events and research centres on four continents, on topics such as AI, Scientific Thinking, Research Methods, Scientific Writing, Computer Animation & Storytelling, Applied Biomechanics, and the Neuropsychology of Video Games. He is the founder of Anthropology-Based Computing and conducts research into HCI, UX, the quantification of qualitative data, the theory and practice of teaching and learning, and the modelling self-reflective individual and networked AIs. John holds seven university degrees across a range of topics, and three PhDs. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and now has far too many letters after his name. |
| Research Interests | Personally, John uses the tools of neuropsychology, ergonomics, biomechanics, anthropology, engineering, computer science, and design to study how humans and their tools co-adapt and co-evolve, and so shape and are shaped by society, technology, and the world. He has developed new models of human cognition and of interaction and used motion capture to study the physiological strain of HCI, and both EEG and Anthropological methods to improve interaction with Smart Homes and smart phones. He has also developed new tools to map hazards and quantify qualitative experiences in order to formalize the science of UX. He is working to make AIs self-reflective, improving their ability to adapt and to interact with others. At RGU, John leads the H.F. G.U.I.L.D. , the research group on the Human Factors of Gameplay, Usability, Interaction, Learning, and Design) and is lead supervisor for 3 PhD students and co-supervisor of one more. |
| Teaching and Learning | A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, John is module leader on 1st year AI, Data, and Society (CM1122), 3rd year User Centred Design (CM3114) and 4th year Human Computer Interaction (CM4110). Each of these modules showcase the path from pre-historical to historical and then modern technology, and the conscious and unconscious forces at play. Each module teaches theory and practice and challenges students to demonstrate their growing understanding of the field. He also gives guest lectures and seminars, including qualitative research methods for Graduate Students at Gray's School of Art, quantitative research methods for RGU's Graduate School and a professional workshop on AI and pareidolia for staff at The Law School. He has established the new S.O.C.R.A.T.E.S. series of workshops and discussions designed as a community of support and learning for early-career researchers and teachers here in the School of Computing, and the P.L.A.T.O. seminar series that brings professionals from a variety of fields here to RGU to discuss how they use computing. |
| PhD Supervision Availability | Yes |
| PhD Topics | General: HCI, CHI, Ergonomics, UX, and HF Anthropology-Based Computing; Calm Computing; Peripheral Interaction; Kind Computing Games More Specifically: Quantifying Qualitative Data in HCI, CHI, UX and HF; Formalizing the Science of UX by Introducing a Periodic Table of Heuristics; Evolutionary Neuropsychology of Interaction with Tools, Systems, Computers, Games, or AI; The Role of Play in Human Neurophysiological and Cognitive Development; Hazard Mapping in HCI, CHI, UX, and HF; Modelling the User Interface to Better Suit the Human Triune Brain; Improving the Usability of AI; Modelling Sociogenesis in Autonomous AI; Expanding the Human Brain Developmental Model as Applied to AI, in Order to Reduce Sociopathy in AIs; Expanding the Measurement of Kindness in UX Design in Order to Reduce Sociopathy in Society; Human Factors of Security and Safety Game Design for Mental Health Game Design for Trauma Recovery (such as PTSD) Building a Card Game to Help Teach the History of Computing |