CHI

Over the last year or so, we have been blessed with the challenge, the opportunity, and the distinct pleasure of organizing the CHI 2011 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, the premier international conference for the field of human-computer interaction.

CHI 2011 takes place in gorgeous, energetic, sophisticated Vancouver BC, a city renowned for its innovation in entertainment, sustainability, accessibility, and inclusivity. The New York Times calls it, "a liquid city, a tomorrow city, equal parts India, China, England, France and the Pacific Northwest." Vancouver lays a beautiful backdrop for our conference, which boasts nearly 30 years of wonderful work.

Behind the success of the conference is our diverse community of faculty and students, of researchers and practitioners, of young and, well, also of experienced. It is a community of designers, technologists, psychologists, social scientists, biologists, artists, engineers, anthropologists, musicians; the list goes on. Wherever we are, we are always a community of near and far. Most impressively, ours is a community that cares deeply about innovating, learning, sharing, and interacting; all with the common goal of using technology to shape the way people around the world live and play.

Returning attendees will recognize the general conference format - 2 days of small intimate workshops, followed by 4 days of technical content, all surrounded by social and intellectual exchanges. In addition to the familiar venues that form the core of the conference, we have also arranged various special events, such an keynotes by Howard Rheingold and Ethan Zuckerman; invited talks by ACM SIGCHI award winners Terry Winograd, Larry Tesler, Alan Newell, and Clayton Lewis; an HCI museum exhibit hosted by Bill Buxton; and a panel celebrating Stu Card's achievements and contributions to the field of HCI.

With the record number of submissions and accepted content this year, we hope that you will utilize the print and electronic programs, but also the daily CHI Madness presentations that provide a glimpse of the day ahead. In the interest of continuing to evolve the conference to best serve our needs, we will experiment with shorter talks this year (20 minute slots for long pieces of content and 10 for shorter ones) to infuse even more energy into the program. We will also have a pretty full slate of social media applications to help you connect with other attendees and to provide you with the fullest experience possible.