nice photo of ruth stalker-firth

About

Ruth Stalker-Firth, PhD (EPFL), fascinated by how people use technology, and vice-versa.

Hello, my name is Ruth, I write about technology and storytelling as, for me, they are inextricably linked to understanding ourselves and the world around us. When working as an interaction designer (IxD and UX) and GUI programmer, I found myself listening to stories about my users’ whole lives not just their computers.

I believe that good human-computer interaction (HCI) is the key to making us all happier with our computers, so that we can use them to solve the problems that will make life better for everyone.

I became a university lecturer in 2001 and over the years (at Lancaster, Westminster and Birkbeck, University of London), I have taught HCI, cognitive science, biometrics, IT security, and web technologies as BSc and MSc level. I teach HCI online on Udemy.

I am a Parent Governor at Great Ormond St Hospital (GOSH) and I do my best to be of service to uphold the GOSH promise: The child comes first.

In the last century, I lived in Lausanne for six years first working as a GUI programmer in AI software and then as a PhD student in HCI, AI and, big data for structural monitoring, at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne.

I’ve been online since1995 and blogging here since 2007. This site gets ~1.3 million hits a year. Offline, I was born in Middlesbrough and now I live in London.

I speak fluent French, terrible Italian, and Duolingo Dutch, and will always have a special place in my heart for the Canton Vaud and Switzerland.

Ruth’s Gacha CV

Last updated: 1st March 2024