Recommender Systems: User Experience and System Issues

Dr. Joe Konstan
University of Minnesota

Friday, November 4, 2005
Talk: 11:00am-12:00pm

Abstract: Over the past decade, recommender systems employing collaborative filtering technology have evolved from research proofs-of-concept to commonplace components of e-commerce web sites and direct marketing. At the same time, research has moved forward to embrace more sophisticated algorithms, more detailed exploration of the user experience, and new applications to the study of on-line community. This talk reviews recent highlights from the decade-old GroupLens Research Project, including user interface design issues, broad applications of recommender systems, and results of experiments on eliciting contributions of effort towards a collective good.

Biography: Joseph A. Konstan is Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota. His research addresses a variety of human-computer interaction issues related to filtering, comprehending, organizing, and automating large and complex data sets. He is probably best known for his work in collaborative filtering (the GroupLens recommender system), multimedia authoring, technology applications in health care, and research on on-line community. Dr. Konstan received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1993. He is an ACM Distinguished Lecturer and IEEE Distinguished Visitor. He serves as President of ACM SIGCHI, the premier international professional society for Human-Computer Interaction.