2021 Alumni Achievement Award
Tom Moran pioneered the creation of the field of human-computer interaction. From CMU, he went to Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), where he partnered with fellow CMU grad Stu Card and with Allen Newell on a program to create a scientific basis for designing user-oriented computational tools. They developed an engineering theory and predictive models, culminating in the seminal 1983 book, "The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction." Tom founded the Human-Computer Interaction journal and served as editor for 30 years.
As a principal scientist at PARC, Tom managed multiple teams doing research in novel applications, work practice studies, and collaborative systems. He started a new PARC laboratory in Cambridge, England, called EuroPARC, and was its director. Tom later moved to IBM Research as a distinguished engineer, where he initiated a research program to understand collaborative work activities and design tools for IBM office products.
Tom and his wife endowed the Thomas and Lydia Moran Career Development Professorship in Learning Science, a topic they feel CMU is uniquely positioned to advance. They are active in philanthropy, supporting issues of education, early childhood, economic security and action civics.