Michael+Gardner

Michael Gardner, PhD, is a Research Fellow and Director of the Digital Lifestyles Centre at the University of Essex, Colchester, UK. This centre explores future lifestyles based around the technical vision of ambient and pervasive computing. He has over 25 years experience in knowledge media both within the industrial research environment and academia. During that time he has worked extensively in the areas of virtual reality, e-learning, collaborative working, social software and the semantic web. Over the years he has worked closely with many industrial partners on innovative research projects, such as BT, Sun Microsystems, and Apple Computer. Many of his projects have been involved in developing and deploying innovative technologies in a range of concrete user contexts, such as within the home/school boundary, call-centres, and higher education settings. His current research interests are focussed on the use of virtual reality environments for work, research, learning and teaching. He also has a long standing interest in pervasive computing, the semantic web and the use of social software.