The Fiesta Team

Adam Brcka

E-mail: adambrcka@gmail.com

Website: www.adambrcka.com

Adam is an HCI Master student from Carnegie Mellon with a background in Psychology and Research Methodologies from Iowa State. His fascination with computers and technology as well as with how people think and behave lead him to pursue a path which combines both worlds with a fresh and evolving perspective. Adam is fueled with a passion to create and innovate, and he believes user-centered design offers an unending opportunity to be challenged. He loves music and art and is in pursuit of a career in User-Interface and Interaction Design. Adam has a blast using the latest cutting-edge software and technology releases (when he can afford them), and he cannot wait to help make them easier and more fun to use.

Bart Knijnenburg

E-mail: bart@usabart.nl

Website: www.usabart.nl

Bart came to Carnegie Mellon all the way from The Netherlands. His Bachelor's degree in Innovation Science taught him about all the aspects involved in making new ideas into successful products. He likes to do research in Human Computer Interaction. In order to get a taste of the professional practice of HCI, he decided to enroll for the MHCI program.

After finishing this program, Bart will go on to pursue another Master's degree in Human Technology Interaction, a more research-focused version of the MHCI program. His ultimate goal is to make this world a better place, make huge sums of money and live happily ever after.

Chan Seol

E-mail: chanseol@gmail.com

Website: www.ssull.com

Chan Seol (Gyung Chan Seol) is a graduate student from South Korea. He came to Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute to study various methods and techniques and to apply his knowledge in Electronic and Electrical Engineering to help design high-tech, innovative products. Experiencing various cultures since he was young, Chan believes that his experience living in, studying and traveling to over twenty countries across three different continents adds a unique and positive influence in making better products for users. This may explain why he is always ready to take a vacation.

Gabriel Golcher

E-mail: ggolcher@hotmail.com

Website: www.gabrielgolcher.com

As Technical Lead of Team Fiesta, Gabriel was the go-to man for software architectures, development estimations, and other wonderfully exciting technical aspects of this project. To qualify for this illustrious role, this Costa Rican earned a triple major in Computer Science, Software Engineering, and Mathematics from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Having experienced first-hand how far-removed software developers can be from their users Gabriel sought to get a Master's in Human-Computer Interaction in order to bridge this gap. He is expecting to graduate in October 2007 and wants to gather requirements, study users, and design applications at a software development company His passions lie in the consumer space, developing software for the casual user that is easy to understand, useful, and most importantly: fun!

James (JJ) Soracco

E-mail: soracco@gmail.com

Website: www.soraccophoto.com/design

JJ Soracco hails all the way from the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pa where he has lived all his life. As an Accelerated Masters student at Carnegie Mellon University, JJ has spent the past 4 years as a student in the College of Fine Arts learning the art of Communication Design. During his undergrad studies he started to explore, and eventually double majored in, Human-Computer Interaction. In his last year at Carnegie Mellon University he decided to go through the Accelerated Masters program for Human-Computer Interaction.

His main interests include working on unique interactions that are entertaining, natural, and useful as well as typography, graphic design, motion design, and programming.