Q&A Adriane Randolph, TEDxPeachtree Speaker

Dr. Adriane B. Randolph is director of the BrainLab, and an Assistant Professor of Information Systems in the Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University (KSU). She received a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the Department of Computer Information Systems at Georgia State University and a B.S. in Systems Engineering with Distinction from the University of Virginia (UVA). Prior to academia, Dr. Randolph worked for Accenture, a leading information technology and management consulting firm, implementing change management and human performance tools in the federal government sector in Washington, D.C.

1. How did you start on this path? I have always had an interest in the way humans interacted with computers, some with a loving inter-dependency and others with a reluctance and fear.  As a systems engineering major at the University of Virginia, I always gravitated toward the design aspect of computer interfaces.  I had the privilege of taking a class from the late Dr. Randy Pausch, of “Last Lecture” fame during his last year at the University before he moved on to Carnegie Mellon University, where I learned about the concept of system usability.  That lit a fire to learn more.  Fast-forward, in my doctoral program, I was encouraged to work with Dr. Melody Moore Jackson who was working in this cool new area of human-computer interaction called “brain-computer interfaces.”  I could not pass up the opportunity to be an apprentice to such a phenomenal and self-less researcher in the field.  Although my work began rooted in the non-traditional assistive technology that brain-computer interfaces provide, I have expanded to examine the underlying characteristics that predict a person’s ability to control such devices.

1. What were some of the unexpected bumps along the way? As a computer information systems major in the business school for my Ph.D., my work was not considered “traditional information systems.”  Many did not understand it nor could they see the vision for what is on the horizon for our interaction with computers in society.  With that lack of understanding, I often found myself out on the edge of the field struggling to have my work legitimatized through publication in the field’s mainstream outlets or fitting into a traditional IS department at a university.  However, with great risk comes great reward and now the field is catching on.  Fortunately, Kennesaw State University supported me from the start with their entrepreneurial spirit ingrained throughout.  It has been great to have held on and now be recognized as one of the established researchers in this area now being named “Neuro-IS.”

1. What was the biggest epiphany and how did it reinforce your course? In visiting several families with loved ones suffering from locked-in syndrome, I realized that I brought them hope and that is a mighty charge.  Those families understood that the field still has a way to go to improve the speed and reliability of brain-interface systems and that there was no magic mechanism to reconnect their family members back with the world.  However, being able to show them a signal jumping not at my doing but produced by the family member reduced them (and me) to tears.  Realizing that those members had gone to the edge with their loved ones and just needed something to help pull them back, that the brain-interface that I was demonstrating was a means to help pull them back, that was a repeatedly humbling experience.  To be graced with the ability and encouragement to continue such work and help improve the effectiveness of these systems is I believe noble life-long work and I am thankful to have found it.

1. Tell us about yourself. What are two things you want to share with our readers that might be unexpected or surprising or encourage someone in your field of work to follow in your footsteps? 1) I am a geek with good social skills; you can match your clothes, keep on the beat when dancing, hold a stimulating conversation, and still be adept in a technical field.  2) There are still a lot of unresolved questions and the field is wide open for newcomers.  As the field receives more attention, we all have a different angle and ideas to offer depending on our background and training.  Everyone has a potentially groundbreaking contribution to make to the advancement of brain-computer interfaces.

1. Without telling us what you’re going to talk about, what is the one thing you hope people will do after they hear you speak? Tell a friend.  Ultimately, the people in need of this technology will not benefit unless they know about it (word-of-mouth often is best), and the technology will not become truly usable until more people understand and see the applications.