Teaching

I attained my Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from University of Mary Washington and my Masters of Science in Human-Computer Interaction from DePaul University. I also have 3+ years experience in usability as a usability consultant at User Centric and as an intern at Census Bureau Usability Lab.

I am currently pursuing my Ph.D. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech. After graduating, I hope to assume a professoriate position teaching Computer Science. I am currently a Graduate Teaching Fellow (GTF) for the College of Engineering. Previous courses for which I served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) include:

• CS 1705 - Introduction to Object Oriented Development I (Spring 2009)

• CS 1054 - Introduction to Programming in Java (Fall 2008)

Also, as a member of the Grad Council, I serve as a Computer Science Graduate Student Assembly delegate.

Research

My active research projects include dynamic progress analysis and feedback control for Web-CAT, and CoPractice, a social question-practice system with collaborative and intelligent feedback.

My areas of interest include:

• Education: eLearning, Intelligent Tutoring Systems, & Computer Science Education

• Human-Computer Interaction: Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Usability Methods

• Applications: Conflict Resolution, Algorithmically Generated Music, & Creative Computing

My publications, presentations, and inventions:

• Buffardi, K., Churbanau, D., Jayaraman, R.K.N., & Edwards, S.H. "Practice Makes Perfect with CoPractice." Poster at ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education. March, 2010 (In Preparation).

• Buffardi, K., Churbanau, D., Jayaraman, R.K.N., & Edwards, S.H. "CoPractice: An Adaptive and Versatile Practice Tool." American Society of Engineering Education, Southeastern. April, 2010 (Accepted).

• Buffardi, K., Bojko, A., & Israelski, E. "Tachistoscopic Study on the Impact of the Net Quantity and Dosage Strength Proximity on Dosage Strength Recognition in Prescription Drug Labels." Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 51st Annual Meeting, 2007.

• McFarlin, L.,Buffardi, K., Schumacher, R., & Vij, M. "Usability Impact on Effectiveness of Parental Controls." Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 51st Annual Meeting, 2007.

• Pedersen, E.,Buffardi, K., & Olson, H "A Visual and Interactive Method to Elicit Participant Verbalization in Comparative Usability Tests." Presented at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 51st Annual Meeting, 2007.

• Buffardi, K., Bojko, A., & Israelski, E. "Now You See It, Now You Don't: Using T-Scope to Supplement Other Methods in Assessing Safety of Drug Labels." Poster Presented at Usability Professionals Association Conference, 2007.

• Bojko, A.,Buffardi, K., Lew, G., & Israelski, E. "Eye Tracking Study on the Impact of the Manufacturer's Logo and Multilingual Description on Drug Selection Performance." Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 50th AnnualMeeting, 2006.

• Buffardi, Kevin. "A Model for Rudimentary Algorithmically Generated Music." ^[.doc] DePaul CTI Research Symposium, 2004.

• Inventors: Bojko, A., Lew, G., Schumacher, R., & Buffardi, K. "Website Evaluation Tool." Pub. No. WO/2006/110472

• Campbell, Jeffrey D. "Interaction in Collaborative Computer Supported Diagram Development."Computers in Human Behavior, 2004 (thanked in acknowledgements).

About Me

Contact:
[Email] boofvtedu or kbuffardiacmorg
[Instant Message] Yahoo: UsableKevin
[Social networks] Kevin Buffardi @ Facebook¹, Kevin Buffardi @ LinkedIn¹

Pronouncing 'Buffardi':
Buffardi is an Italian name and the 'u' is pronounced like 'oo' rather than 'uh'. Say: Boof. Are. Dee. Put it all together. Emphasize the second syllable.

Hobbies:
I study Computer Science because I enjoy it, however, I also pursue other interests in my spare time:

Music. I enjoy playing and composing music as well as obviously listening to it. I am trained in classical percussion and in music theory. Theory helps me write orchestral and contemporary (mostly rock) music, but also allows me to learn other instruments. In addition to drums and percussion, I also play guitar, bass, piano & keyboards, and mandolin.

I have a collection of instruments that continually grows, currently including: drum set, congas, shakers & handheld percussion, Kenyan skin drum, Ghanan drum, acoustic guitar, acoustic/electric guitar, electric guitar, electric bass, acoustic 5-string fretless bass, vintage tater-bug mandolin, digital piano, and synthesizer. I also enjoy building instruments. I have assembled drums and applied custom finishes and other work on my guitars and basses. My next project is to build a Ukulele.

Camping. I love "roughing it" in the outdoors and have been fortunate to live most my life in Virginia where I have enjoyed exploring the woods, hiking trails, canoeing the rivers, and generally embracing nature. However, the highlight of my camping 'career' was spending a week living out of a tent in Maui, Hawaii.

Conflict Resolution. My interest in conflict resolution grew as a camp counselor, learning how to settle disputes between feuding campers. Specifically, I like to study and advocate use of non-violence. In particular, I am a student of non-resistance, as described by Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God is Within You, based on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and as demonstrated by Mohondas Gandhi's South African civil rights and Indian Independence movements and by Martin Luther King, Jr.'s American Civil Rights movement.

¹I only add friends and acquaintances to my networks. For the purposes of keeping personal and professional life seperate, I will not add current students. However, I will be happy to add former students so to keep in touch.