The Department of Technical Communication at the University of Washington (where I am a Research Scientist) is changing its name! We are now the Department of Human-Centered Design and Engineering. The name change represents a broader focus than traditional written communication, and better reflects the interests of many of the faculty and students.
The press release about the name change also mentions the effort to coordinate the human-computer interaction work going on all over campus. I remember when I started working in this area at the University of Michigan School of Information, and worrying that it was all so new and might not catch on and I’d be an academic outcast wandering in the interdisciplinary desert. Sometimes it still feels that way, but it’s great to know that there are oases where research on the human side of computing is in full bloom!
