Research – DaraghByrne.me

Daragh Byrne Associate Teaching Professor
School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University. Core faculty for MSCD and PhD CD.
Courtesy appointments in the School of Design and the Human Computer Interaction Institute.
Afflilated facilty with the IDeATe network, Block Center for Technology and Society, and CyLab.
Co-Lead of the TRACES Lab. Co-founder and platform lead for a2ru's Ground Works.
Pronunciation: Dah-rah (silent ‘gh’) · Pronouns: he/him. · Google Scholar · ResearchGate · ORCID 0000-0001-7193-006X.

Research

My research is multi-disciplinary, process-oriented and operates at multiple scales and in multiple contexts. I value the production of systems and devices as a means to advance inquiry and address socio-cultural questions surrounding emerging technologies. While my research can be generally organized into three avenues for socio-technical systems (namely, data and human experience; Internet of Things; and the Maker movement), my current emphasis is on the Internet of Things.

Research Interests


Internet of Things; Human Computer Interaction (HCI); Maker Movement; Experiential Data.


Design research; Interdisciplinary exploration; Art-Science Integration; Critical making; Social and Reflective Systems; Multimedia Retrieval.


Research Areas


How do we capture and represent experience through computational tools? How can experiential media systems - 'systems that integrate computing and digital media with the physical and social experience' - enable new insights and understanding of personal or collective significance?

Sparkfolio

(2013 - 2015)

Emerge::data

(2012 - 2014)


What is the influence of IoT on everyday life? Can we design the IoT, and its data, towards more meaningful connectivity between devices and between people? What are the methods to supporting designers conceptualizing and rapidly prototyping complex connectivity in IoT scenarios?


How can hands-on practices of tinkering and material inquiry support STEAM learning? What are the opportunities for critical making (or “a simultaneously conceptual and material critique of technologies and information systems in society” (Ratto,2015)) to engage issues surrounding emerging technologies?


My role at CMU naturally prioritizes teaching. In this role, I view research as a mode of capacity building: it allows me to test and explore new terrains of emerging media relevant to my teaching and to develop innovative technologies and pedagogies that advance the modes of interdisciplinary practice in this space, and to provide support for others operating in similar contexts.

MakeSchools

(2013 - 2017)

The Gallery

(2014 - date)

Ground Works

(2016 - date)