Rate My Professor David Kirk

Professor David Kirk is Professor of Human-Computer Interaction and Director of Research for the School of Computing at Newcastle University. His career includes prior positions as Senior Lecturer/Reader in Experience Centred Design/Cultural Computing at Newcastle University, Professor of Digital Living at Northumbria University, Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Nottingham, and Post-Doctoral Researcher in the Socio-Digital Systems group at Microsoft Research Cambridge. He holds a BSc (Hons), MSc, and PhD.

Kirk's research specializations in human-computer interaction utilize design research methods, including field research, prototyping, and speculation, to understand digital human experiences and design value-sensitive interactive technologies. Academic interests encompass video-mediated communication, memory and memorialisation in cultural heritage, human-data interaction, human-building interaction and smart homes, digital civics and citizens, humanitarian HCI, human-robot interaction, digital health and wellbeing, slow technology, design futures, and human-AI interactions. He directs Newcastle University's Open Lab and leads the Centre for Digital Citizens, a £9 million EPSRC-funded research centre bringing together academics and post-doctoral researchers to co-design digital technologies addressing public health, wellbeing, community engagement, citizen safety, and lifelong learning. Key publications include 'Alt(ernate) CHI: Using Alternate History Artifacts in Research' (2025), 'Story Inspiration Station: Deeper Engagement with Museum Objects via Participatory Interpretation' (2025), 'Human-AI Collaboration in Interior Design Education: GPT-Assisted Creativity and Innovation' (2025), 'Evaluating ActuAir: Building Occupants' Experiences of a Shape-Changing Air Quality Display' (CHI 2024), 'Human Building Interaction and Design for Climate Change' (2024), 'Understanding occupants’ experiences in quantified buildings: results from a series of exploratory studies' (CHI 2023), 'Participatory Design Goes to School: Co-Teaching as a Form of Co-Design for Educational Technology' (CHI 2022), and 'Memoryscapes: Designing Situated Narratives of Place through Heritage Collections' (2021). His work has received over 1,300 citations.