WELCOME TO NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY'S CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

The Center for Technology and Social Behavior gathers researchers from across Northwestern University and beyond to study and participate in technological developments in their broadest possible contexts. It is a central goal of the center to support researchers in their quest to understand the role that technology plays in our everyday social interactions, and to facilitate the development of the next generation of technologies that will work towards supporting positive social ends.

To address these goals, the center brings together an interdisciplinary mix of researchers from disciplines as diverse as communication, computer science, engineering, history, interaction design, learning sciences, visual arts, psychology and sociology. The center hosts a monthly speaker seminar series that brings internationally renowned speakers to Northwestern, provides support to graduate students and post-docs studying at the intersection of technology and social behavior, oversees shared facilities to support research studies and technology development, provides physical space for meetings, funds interdisciplinary undergraduate research opportunities, and in general aims to nurture connections between researchers from complementary disciplines. A number of the researchers and students also participate in a new joint PhD program in Technology and Social Behavior that prepares students for a wide range of academic and industrial research jobs.

OUR RESEARCH MISSION
From smartphones, to paying for groceries by thumbprint, to the ubiquity of online social networking sites, it is clear that we have entered into an age of social interaction through and with technology. However, along with the undeniable benefits of these technologies come a number of questions surrounding how technology influences our daily interactions with each other and with our society around us. We believe that these questions are best answered in the context of highly interdisciplinary conversations among engineers, historians, artists, and social scientists. The Center for Technology and Social Behavior brings together researchers who are willing to transgress the boundaries between these fields. We believe that the study of technology can bring about a better understanding of human behavior, and that the study of human behavior will result in better technologies.

CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Northwestern University
Frances Searle Building, #2-431
2240 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208
USA