Yi Deng, PhD, dean and Isaac L. Auerbach Professor in Drexel University’s College of Computing & Informatics (CCI), has announced the appointment of Helena Mentis, PhD as the next head of the Department of Information Science at the College.
Mentis is currently a professor in the Department of Information Systems, director of the Center for Responsible and Inclusive Technology and director of the Bodies in Motion lab in the College of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). She served as an associate dean of that College from 2018 to 2021 and was named a US Fulbright Scholar in 2021.
In making this announcement, Dean Deng said: “Dr. Mentis is a highly regarded researcher in human-centered computing and its applications in healthcare and medicine. Among the early researchers to address important questions around collaborative image manipulation and annotation in surgical settings, her research on telemedicine is considered trailblazing in the realm of human-centered technology support for health and well-being. Dr. Mentis’ work, centering on enhancing collaboration and communication in healthcare by leveraging the latest technologies, as well as her broad experience across the fields of computing, informatics and healthcare, position her to make exceptional contributions to the College’s role in driving Drexel’s twin priorities of health and technology.”
Mentis brings with her a rich record of leadership and professional experiences to serve the interests of CCI’s students and faculty in both the Department of Information Science and in the College as a whole. She served as the executive vice president and president of ACM Special Interest Group on Computer–Human Interaction (SIGCHI), a leading organization for the field of human-centered computing. Prior to her tenure at UMBC, she was an ERCIM postdoctoral researcher at Mobile Life in Sweden; held a joint postdoctoral fellowship at Microsoft Research Cambridge and Corpus Christi College at the University of Cambridge; and was a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and the Cambridge Health Alliance.
Mentis earned a PhD in information sciences and technology at The Pennsylvania State University. She will join the Information Science faculty on Sept. 1, 2024.