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04/12/2006	Job Opening: Postdoctoral Research Associate The Center for New Media at the University of California, Berkeley, invites applications for three postdoctoral research positions, sponsored by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation. The positions are for one year with the possibility of renewal for one or more years. The postdoctoral researcher will work as a fieldworker/ethnographer on a project on digital kids and informal learning, which involves foundational research on how children and youth are using information and communication technologies and participating on the Internet. The project is led by Professor Peter Lyman in the School of Information Management and Systems and Dr. Diane Harley at UC Berkeley. Responsibilities involve monitoring and participating in online activity, conducting interviews with kids and parents, and participant observing in schools and community programs. Researchers would also be responsible for analyzing, writing, and presenting results, and considering policy and design implications of the ethnographic research. Additional responsibilities include assistance with overall project management, guidance/direction of graduate students, managing databases, and other project logistics as needed. We seek candidates with Ph.D.s (required) in fields such as science and technology studies, information sciences, communications, education, anthropology, and sociology with background and interest in areas related to new media, education, and childhood studies. The ideal candidate would have experience in ethnographic fieldwork, collaborative and interdisciplinary research, and experience working with kids and families. Experience running large multi-site, collaborative research projects a plus. Excellent writing, editing, and data management and analytical skills required. Experience with web technologies a plus. Spanish language ability is also a plus. The positions will be full time, salary commensurate with experience from $31,668 to $49,129. Applications should include a CV, a cover letter including a personal statement, and a brief statement of research goals and experience in relation to ethnographic research on kids and technology and names and full contact information for three recommenders. Address all application materials to Evelyn Wong, Center for New Media, University of California, Berkeley, 390 Wurster Hall, Mail Code 1839, Berkeley, CA 94720-1839. Application deadline is May 5, 2006. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer.
03/29/2006	Preserving Work That Falls Outside the Norm FOR centuries, museums, libraries and collectors have been forced to worry about how to keep artifacts and documents from falling into pieces. Despite the inevitable decay of the materials involved, curators and conservators have protected mummies, paintings and other objects. Now these curators and conservators find themselves in the digital era, with artists presenting work that challenges not only the audience, but also the traditions of preservation. The essential question is, How does a museum safeguard work that was built as an interactive experience and that may be based on computer code that will almost certainly disappear in less than two years?
02/21/2006	New Media Summer For the first time this summer, UC students and visitors can explore facets of the burgeoning world of New Media close-up through UC Summer Session courses. The first of the Center for New Media’s inaugural summer offerings is “Social Memory: Documenting ISEA 2006”. Instructor Richard Rinehart, Berkeley Art Museum Director of Digital Media, will introduce enrollees to the Media Art Notation System, a new metadata framework from the museum and art community. The Media Art Notation System uses new media to document, preserve, and “remember” cultural artifacts, such as media art and complex cultural projects, which have heretofore confounded traditional attempts at documentation. Students in this three week class will use and test the Media Art Notation System to document a live, complex cultural event, the ISEA2006/ZeroOne Conference and Electronic Arts Festival in San Jose. The second course, “Digital Reconstruction of Historic Sites”, melds issues of historic preservation with digital visualization. Instructor Laura Ackley will guide students in proposing, researching and presenting a digital reconstruction of a real world cultural historic site using 3D Studio MAX modeling to produce a 3D model, renderings and animation. Details and enrollment information may be found at the UC Summer Session website at http://summer.berkeley.edu/.
02/08/2006	They're not about whether you win or lose Greg Niemeyer finds both pleasure and insight in games from Roshambo to Pac-Man. According to Greg Niemeyer, games are much more than mere diversions. "Everything we know," he says, "we learn from games."
01/12/2006	America's wildest videos — coming to a monitor near you? CONE technology aims at helping biologists monitor animal behavior from the comfort of their keyboards.
01/10/2006	Faculty Opening in Theory and Practice of Interactive Media, University of California at Berkeley Center for New Media Theory and Practice of Interactive Media. Tenure track, Assistant Professor position to develop teaching research, and service programs in the production of interactive media. Candidate will be expected to contribute to research and teaching objectives of the Center for New Media (http://cnm.berkeley.edu/). Possible subject domains include visual, acoustic, compositional, dramatic, tactile, and cultural aspects of interactive media, and their inclusion into computational representations (such as personal digital assistants, e-books, interactive educational tools, wearable and other digital art, personal security devices, media-rich cell phones, multimedia tools for the disabled, interactive architectural spaces, etc.) Preference will be given to applicants with a background in and/or research commitment to both technical and humanistic/societal disciplines. Examples of technical disciplines include, but are not limited to, computer science, information science, media technology, and product design. Examples of humanistic/societal disciplines include but are not limited to semiotics, film studies, media studies, linguistics, communication, and social science. Technical expertise should include one or more of the following areas: multimedia databases, metadata for media, computer vision/audition, computer graphics, information retrieval, human-computer interface, game designing, and media authoring systems. Research background should demonstrate integration and synergy between technical and humanistic/societal approaches to the representation of New Media. Successful candidate will be appointed in relevant department/departments; possible primary home departments include Engineering, Computer Science, Information School, Architecture, Art Practice, Music, English, Journalism, Film Studies and Education. Ph.D., MFA or equivalent terminal degree. Applications must include a C.V.; a letter describing the candidate’s background and interests, including a brief description of possible courses; a one-page statement outlining a vision for interactive media in the context of interdisciplinary new media studies, two recent essay-length publications or creative activity demonstrated by video documentation (preferably DVD) in a short 5-minute overview format and an extended format, and names and full contact information for three recommenders. Female and minority candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Application Deadline: March 10, 2006. Mail to: Alice Agogino, Chair, Search Committee, Center for New Media, 390 Wurster Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-1839. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer. Keywords: New Media, Design, Communication, Engineering, Computer Science, Architecture, Art, Music, English, Journalism, Film and Education
08/17/2005	New Media selected for Townsend Center Strategic Working Group The Townsend Center for the Humanities has selected New Media as one of two Townsend/Mellon Strategic Working Groups for 2005-2006. The purpose of the SWG is to exchange ideas and come up with recommendations for a curriculum for New Media studies. It is composed of UC Berkeley faculty and students who represent a wide range of intellectual backgrounds, ideas, and interests. The award consists of course relief for one semester for up to 7 faculty, as well as funding for a graduate student researcher (GSR) and for visiting speakers to benefit the group’s discussions. The group is being convened by Professors Yehuda Kalay (Architecture) and Alva Noë (Philosophy), and includes Professors Natalia Brizuela (Spanish and Portuguese), Ken Goldberg (EECS & IEOR), Nancy van House (SIMS), Celeste Langan (English), Peter Lyman (SIMS), Mike Martin (Architecture), Greg Niemeyer (Art Practice), Richard Rinehart (Berkeley Art Museum), Ann Walsh (Art Practice), and David Wessel (Music), as well as post-doctoral scholar Sergey Dolgopolsky. The Working Group will explore questions of the kind: (1) What new affordances does New Media bring to each one of the represented disciplines? and (2) How do these affordances affect each discipline? The questions will help to frame a project for the Center for New Media that differentiates it from other new media centers around the world, and lay the foundations for a course on critical analysis of New Media.
07/17/2005	UC Berkeley and Yahoo launch Yahoo! Research Berkeley Yahoo! Research Berkeley is a new research partnership between Yahoo! Inc. and UC Berkeley to explore and invent social media and mobile media technology and applications that will enable people to create, describe, find, share, and remix media on the web. Prof. Marc Davis, an Assistant Professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information Management and Systems (SIMS), where he directs Garage Cinema Research, and a Co-Founder and Executive Committee Member of CNM, is the Founding Director of Yahoo! Research Berkeley. He is responsible for the technical and creative vision and leadership for the Lab. Yahoo! Research Berkeley combines UC Berkeley's world-class media technology, design, and user research with the scale and impact of the world's leading internet media company. Many faculty and students from CNM will be involved…stay tuned!
05/05/2005	UC Berkeley-USC project to study "digital kids" A grant of $3.3 million was awarded to the School of Information Management & Systems (SIMS) at UC Berkeley to study how young people use digital media and its potential for improving learning. Spearheaded by Peter Lyman, a SIMS professor, the research project will document how youth from ages 10 to 20 are using new digital media to create and exchange knowledge, assess how these phenomena affect learning, and encourage use of its conclusions for the improvement of schools.
09/16/2004	Berkleyan article focuses on CNM Center for New Media boots up: Opening event focuses on French philosopher whose writings on the body and perception shed light on the digital age.