Alice Jane Brush ( Bernheim) is an American computer scientist known for her research in humanâÂÂcomputer interaction, ubiquitous computing and computer supported collaborative work (CSCW). She is better known for research studying and building technology for homes, and for expertise conducting field studies of technology. She was co-chair of the Committee on Widening Participation in Computing Research (CRA-W) from 2014âÂÂ2017. She serves as a Senior Member of the ACM.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/author/37282872100
Brush received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in computer science and mathematics from Williams College in 1996. She received a Master of Science (M.S.) in computer science from the University of Washington in 1998, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in computer science from the University of Washington in 2002. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington from 2002 to 2004, later joining Microsoft Research.
Brush currently focuses on home automation research and co-leads the Lab of Things project, a publicly available platform for experimental research using connected devices in homes. Brush's research on the challenges and opportunities of smart homes based on interviews with people living in smart homes informed the design of the Lab of Things software. During this notable 2011 study, Bush and her colleagues visited 14 homes with home automation and found that despite decades of research, the technology had not been widely adopted. The study identified barriers of cost, complexity, and additional user concerns. She worked at Microsoft for 12 years in Microsoft Research. Her research area is Human-Computer Interaction with a focus on Ubiquitous Computing and Computer Supported Collaboration (CSCW).
Brush and her collaborators conducted research on family coordination and calendaring and built prototypes that influenced Windows Live Calendar and the Windows Phone Family Room feature. Studying use of technology in homes, Brush and her colleagues have repeatedly demonstrated how frequently devices are shared in households, even devices typically considered "personal" such as mobile devices. She has co-developed and tested multiple alternative paradigms for user account management that better match shared usage.
Brush received the CRA-W 2010 Borg Early Career Award.
Other notable awards include:
Brush holds over 25 patents for innovations in computing and smart technologies.