Julie A. Kientz facts for kids

Julie Anne Kientz (born May 9, 1980) is an American computer scientist. She is a professor at the University of Washington. There, she works in a department called Human Centered Design & Engineering. This field focuses on making technology easy and helpful for people to use.

Julie Kientz's Early Life and Schooling

Julie Kientz was born in Marion, Ohio, on May 9, 1980. When she was in high school, she won an award at the State Science Day. She first wanted to be a vet. But she changed her mind after seeing a dog surgery. In her last year of high school, she took college classes. She did this through a special program.

After high school, Julie studied computer science at the University of Toledo. In her final year, she joined a summer research program. This was at the University of California, Berkeley. Later, she earned her PhD in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. Her advisor, Gregory Abowd, inspired her. He encouraged her to create technology to help children with autism.

Before making software, she trained as a therapist for autistic children. She worked in this role for about a year and a half. During this time, she helped build a tool called Lullaby. It was made to measure reaction times. A paper she wrote about Lullaby won an award in 2012. It was from the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Julie also created Fetch. This was a phone app that helped people find lost items.

Her Career in Technology

After getting her PhD, Julie Kientz became a professor. She worked at the University of Washington. She was in two departments: Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) and the Information School. In 2009, she started the Computing for Healthy Living and Learning (CHiLL) Laboratory. This lab checks if technology works well in real life.

As the head of the CHiLL Lab, Julie created Baby Steps. This project helps parents track their child's development. It makes it a fun way to celebrate their achievements. In the same year, she won an award from the National Science Foundation. This award helped her design new ways for technology to support parents. The goal was to help ensure their children grew up healthy.

In 2012, Julie joined the HCDE Department full-time. She kept leading the CHiLL Laboratory. She received an award for her project. It was about a smartphone app to help people quit smoking. In August 2013, MIT Technology Review named her one of the top innovators under 35. She also received a Google Faculty Research Award. This award was for her study on how long research studies should last. Because of her work, she was promoted to associate professor. As an associate professor, she co-wrote a study. It showed that many period-tracking apps were not very accurate. They also often made wrong assumptions about users.

Near the end of 2019, Julie Kientz became a full professor in HCDE. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she became the Chair of the department. She helped start a fund for students. This fund supported HCDE students who faced money problems during the pandemic. Julie also led a project to study how the pandemic affected families. This project looked at how technology played a role. In May 2020, she helped publish a new edition of her book. It was called Interactive Technologies and Autism. At the end of that year, she was named an ACM Distinguished Member. This was for her important contributions to computing.

Her Personal Life

Julie Kientz is married to Shwetak Patel. He is also a professor at the University of Washington. They live in Seattle, Washington.