Member since
1991
Her job
As an associate professor in Cornell University's communication and information science departments, Fussell studies how people connect and collaborate with Skype, Twitter and other electronic communication tools. She is also designing software that could make it easier for people who speak different languages to work together.
Can we talk?
Fussell's interest in communication dates back to her childhood. "I was not that good at communicating as a kid. Perhaps I was hoping to become less shy." Today she is interested in technology that makes communication and collaboration possible on a global scale. In particular, she is exploring how specific features of electronic communication tools — such as whether people can see one another while they talk — affect the quality of their conversations. She has found that being able to see the person you're communicating with is important only when there is a language barrier.
‘Translational' science
The idea for Fussell's software came to her years ago while she was giving a talk to colleagues in Japan and realized her audience couldn't understand what she was saying because of a language difference. When Fussell returned to her lab, she searched for translational software, but found it inaccurate, especially when it came to converting Asian characters into English ones. "Machine translation will make Asian characters look like abstract poetry in English," says Fussell. So she and her collaborators went to work designing a program that displays images that correspond to text. "The pictures help steer the message, and we're hoping they will help people come to a mutual understanding, better than words alone," says Fussell.
In good company
When Fussell isn't in her lab or on the road giving talks about her work, she's in the company of her cats, reading, relaxing and gardening. "I'm a maniac about cats," she says. "I have three cats now, but at the height of catdom I had eight."
Fussell also likes experimenting with French, Thai and Italian cooking. "I had some professional training when I lived in Manhattan during graduate school. I guess I was thinking that if I didn't get tenure someday, well, I could just keep cooking."
— Robin Tricoles
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