I am a PhD Candidate at Cornell University. I study boundary crossing and public engagement in the sciences and arts, and I design mobile technologies that foster engagement at Cornell’s Interaction Design Lab. My work spans several fields, including design, science communication, production, and photography.  In addition to my academic work, I am the co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Redshift Productions, a company that facilitates communication and collaboration amongst artists and scientists to create public performances.

News

Eric Baumer and I will be leading a workshop at DIS2012 in June. “Adoption, Adaptation, Appropriation: Sketching as a Case Study in the Blurring Lines between Design, Research, and Practice” will use sketching as a concrete way to explore the evolution of mixing methods across disciplines.

I recently received a three year USDA “Hatch” Grant with Dr. Bruce Lewenstien to develop Frontstage, an audience participation system to be used in informal science education and environmental education.

Noteworthy talks and Publications

Halpern, M., Tholander, J., Evjen, M., Davis, S., Ehrlich, A., Schustak, K., Baumer, E., Gay, G. (2011). MoBoogie: Creative expression through whole body musical interaction. CHI 2011 Conference Proceedings. Vancouver, BC, Canada (Honorable Mention: Among the top 5% CHI notes 2011)

Halpern, M., Evjen, M., Cosley,  D., Lin, M., Tseou, S., Horowitz, E., Peesapati, T.,  & Gay, G. (2011). SunDial: embodied informal science education using GPS. MedieKultur: Special Issue on Museums and Technology. 27(50), 48-65.

Halpern, M. (2011). Across the great divide: boundaries and boundary objects in art and science. Public Understanding of Science. doi:10.1177/0963662510394040.

Halpern, M. (2010). Science theater. In S. H. Priest (Ed.), Encyclopedia of science and technology communication. (pp. 742-6). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.