Dan Mauney, Ph.D.

Ever since I was a freshman in the Engineering program at Virginia Tech, I knew I wanted to be in Human Factors. I love designing products to make them easier for people to use and evaluating products to assess their ease of use. So many products are unnecessarily difficult and things need to improve. This is what gets me up in the morning and why I love my job.

Since completing my Ph.D. over 15 years ago, I have been developing hardware and software interfaces for devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, and desktop computers to improve their ease of use. I've shaped my career to enable me to do this in a wide variety of environments giving me a very broad view of product development, ranging from small startups (Jabra Corporation, Mobileum) to large corporations (Nokia, SBC Technology Resources - now AT&T Labs), and now as a service provider to an even wider range of companies. In all occasions, I have been a primary user-advocate, promoting the user-centered design process and creating designs that focus on ease of use. To get the word out beyond products that I can personally work on, I have written book chapters on small-screen interfaces and making wireless applications easy to use, been an invited speaker at a number of events promoting user interface design techniques and tips to application developers, and authored multiple U.S. and international patents.

Jobs I would hold if I wasn't in Human Factors

• Whitewater raft guide
• Ski patrol
• Brewmaster
• Home improvement contractor
• Stay at home dad
• Alaskan fisherman (yea, right!)

Work I don't get paid for

• Landscaping
• Getting beat up by my kids
• Fixing broken toys, appliances, drywall, plumbing, furniture
• Pooper scooper
• Furniture making

Mid-life crisis vehicle I will buy (when I reach my mid-life crisis)

• Bobcat

Cool places I've lived

• San Diego (1 block from beach)
• Vancouver (eh?)
• Austin, TX (live music capital of the world)
• Cary, NC (back home)

Education

• Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering, with an emphasis in Human Factors, Virigina Tech, 1994
• Master of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering, with an emphasis in Human Factors, Virigina Tech, 1991
• Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Virginia Tech, 1989

Professional Involvement

• Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES)
• Association of Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI)
• Usability Professionals' Association (UPA)

Selected Publications

• Mauney, D. & Masterton, C. (2008). Small-screen interfaces. In P. Kortum (Ed.), HCI Beyond the GUI (307-357). Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann.
• Singhal, S. Bridgman, T. Suryanarayana, L., Mauney, D., Alvinen, J., Bevis, D., Chan, J. Hild, S. (2001). The Wireless Application Protocol: Writing Applications for the Mobile Internet, Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
• Casali, J., Mauney, D., & Burks, J. (1995). Physical vs psychophysical measurement of hearing protector attenuation-aka MIRE vs REAT, Sound and Vibration, 55, 20-27.

Patents

• Enhanced wireless handset, including direct handset-to-handset communication US Pat. 7353018 - Filed Jul 2, 2003
• Method and system for remote telephone calibration US Pat. 6990190 - Filed Mar 27, 2002
• Earmold for improved retention of coupled device US Pat. 6688421 - Filed Apr 18, 2002
• Locking ear gel US Pat. D478991 - Filed Apr 15, 2002
• Enhanced wireless handset, including direct handset-to-handset communication US Pat. 6865372 - Filed Oct 3, 2001
• Method and system for remote telephone calibration US Pat. 6453042 - Filed Nov 17, 1997
• Earmolds for two-way communications devices US Pat. 5659156 - Filed Feb 3, 1995
• Ear microphone with enhanced sensitivity US Pat. 5812659 - Filed Jun 7, 1995
• Earplug and hearing devices formed in-situ US Pat. 5333622 - Filed Jul 17, 1992
• Custom-fitting earplug formed in situ using foaming action US Pat. 5131411 - Filed Aug 20, 1990
• [APPLICATION] Enhanced wireless handset, including direct handset-to-handset communication US Pat. 10838112 - Filed May 3, 2004
• [APPLICATION] Enhanced wireless handset, including direct handset-to-handset communication US Pat. 10612823 - Filed Jul 2, 2003
• [APPLICATION] Enhanced wireless handset, including direct handset-to-handset communication US Pat. 10612346 - Filed Jul 2, 2003

More about me

• LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/danmauney