Curriculum Vitae

About Chris Kim

Dr. Chris K. Kim is a user-focused software developer in pursuit of using technology to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations and address today's talent gap in digital media. Trained in media production and information visualization, Chris works with institutional stakeholders, including DARPA, MIT, and the University of Toronto, to build platforms that democratize AI and promote human-in-the-loop automation.

His research areas include interactive visualization for the web, computer vision and natural language processing, and human-AI collaboration in creative processes, and Chris contributes to various research efforts in the capacity of a software developer in commonsense grounding, AI detector harmonization, and user interface development. In addition, Chris collaborates with industry and academic partners to apply emerging human interface technologies, such as VR headsets, to creation of immersive user experiences.

In recognition of concerns surrounding the opaque nature of conventional AI systems and algorithmic decision-making processes, Chris brings his insights in promoting interpretable machine learning capabilities and fostering trust and reliance in explainable AI systems. Equipped with deep experience in interactive visualization for multimodal analytics, where different stakeholders can integrate discrete data sources into a single consolidated stream for visualization, understanding, and analysis, Chris also seeks to identify opportunities to collect, harmonize, and safeguard personally identifiable information, adaptive progression data, and implicit engagement insights.

Finally, informed by his prior research work in facilitating accessible and universal e-learning experiences with industry partners and advocacy groups, Chris brings his experience surrounding the current ecosystem of computing devices and institutional IT infrastructure in order to identify challenges and opportunities in introducing new interaction paradigms and technologies using nondisruptive, modular methods.

Chris also operates a software studio GoodCodeClub (https://goodcodeclub.com), where he works with emerging talents in promoting underserved communities and facilitating youth entrepreneurship.

Research Area

Interactive visualization for the web
Computer vision and natural language processing
Human-AI collaboration in creative process

Education

OCAD University

Postdoctoral Fellowship
Visual Analytics Lab
2022 – 2023

Ontario Tech University

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Computer Science
2014 – 2021

Ryerson University

Master of Arts
Media Production
2011 – 2012

Ryerson University

Bachelor of Arts
Radio and Television Arts
2007 – 2011

Industry Experience Highlights

Robust.AI

Software Engineer
Aug 2021 – Present
Toronto, Canada

• Designing and developing bespoke user interfaces for visualizing robot states and facilitating human-machine collaboration

GoodCodeClub

Director
Jan 2016 – Present
Toronto, Canada

• Recruiting and managing various digital media talents in developing eye-catching web presence solutions and complex applications

Partial Gallery

Technical Co-founder
Oct 2016 – Present
Toronto, Canada

• Establishing an online art marketplace for artists and art-seekers to connect and engage in real and accessible transactions

St Regis Group

Web Development Consultant
Jan 2013 – Present
Toronto, Canada

• Collaborating with in-house creatives and developers to design and develop consumer-facing websites of St. Regis Crystal and its subsidiaries, based on the company's existing product inventory system

HealthCare 365 Inc.

Director Of Technology
Jul 2013 – Jul 2020
Toronto, Canada

• Developing and maintaining a web-based patient portal, along with a number of adhoc applications to facilitate the day-to-day operations of the clinic

Oxfam International

Web Development Consultant
Sep 2010 – Jun 2015

• Developing a series of web-based platforms aimed to raise awareness about armed violence and irresponsible arms transfers in collaboration with Oxfam International, IANSA, and other international nonprofit organizations

Teaching Experience Highlights

George Brown College

Instructor, School of Design
Aug 2020 – Present
Toronto, Canada

• Computing, Data Integration and Development (BDES 3500)
• Interaction Design (DESN 1138)
• Interface Development (INTR 2012)

OCAD University

Instructor, Continuing Studies + Digital Futures
Jan 2013 – Present
Toronto, Canada

• Introduction to Designing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Applications (CSDM N164)
• Web + Mobile Systems Design (DIGF 6039)
• Introduction to Web Art and Design (CSDM 1N15)
• Advanced Web Art and Design, CSS and JavaScript Frameworks (CSDM 2N15)
• Dynamic Web Design, PHP (CSDM 2N18)

Ryerson University

Instructor, Faculty of Communication & Design
Jun 2014 – Present
Toronto, Canada

• Digital Design Studio (CRI 300)
• Advertising Design (FFC 603)
• Digital Discourse and Design (CMN 222)
• Virtual Organization (PC 8005)

Durham College

Partial-Load Professor, School of Media, Art, and Design
Dec 2013 – Apr 2014
Oshawa, Canada

• Motion Graphics and Compositing (CMP 4300)
• Interactive Informatics II (CMP 4200)

Research Experience Highlights

Stevens Institute of Technology

Musical Interactive Collaborative Agent (MUSICA)
Mar 2019 – Present
Hoboken, New Jersey

• Building a platform to facilitate human-computer collaboration through natural language

University of Toronto Mississauga and Vector Institute

Toronto Annotation Suite
Aug 2019 – Apr 2020

• Designing a user-friendly solution for AI-assisted, human-in-the-loop image annotations

SRI International and University of Guelph

Trust and Reliance in Human-Machine Interactions
Jan 2019 – Jun 2019

• Examining the benefits of visualizing AI interpretation in human-machine collaboration

SRI International, University of Toronto, and MIT

Re-Inventing Interaction with Animation Software using Graphs (Graph2Animation)
Oct 2018 – Jun 2019

• Developing a web-based, multimodal platform for commonsense grounding

University of St Andrews

Interactive Word-color Catalogue for Scholars, Designers, and Writers (Lexichrome)
Sep 2018 – Sep 2019
St Andrews, Scotland

• Designing an application for examining the popular notion of word-color associations

DARPA and SRI International

Communicating with Computers (CWC)
Mar 2018 – Sep 2018

• Developing a collaborative visual storytelling platform based on conversational AI

INRIA (National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation)

Collaborative Resolution of Geographical Ambiguities
Feb 2017 – Sep 2017
Rocquencourt, France

• Establishing a platform for large-scale annotation and correction of geographical data

Publications, Demos, and Posters

• D. Quick, D. Burke, C. Kim, "MUSICA: Musical Interactive Collaborative Agent." 2nd Conference on AI Music Creativity, 2021.
• C. Kim, X. Lin, C. Collins, G. W. Taylor, M. R. Amer. "Learn, Generate, Rank, Explain: A Case Study of Visual Explanation by Generative Machine Learning." ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems (TiiS), 2021.
• C. K. Kim, C. Collins, U. Hinrichs, and S. M. Mohammad, "Lexichrome: Text Construction and Lexical Discovery with Word-Color Associations Using Interactive Visualization." Designing Interactive Systems (DIS), 2020.
• C. Kim, T. J. Meo, A. Raghavan, A. Tozzo, D. A. Salter, A. Tamrakar, M. R. Amer. "Aesop: A Visual Storytelling Platform for Conversational AI and Common Sense Grounding." AI Communications, 2019
• C. Kim. "A modular framework for collaborative multimodal annotation and visualization." Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces: Companion. ACM, 2019.
• C. Kim, X. Lin, T. Meo, and M. R. Amer. "Learn, Generate, Rank: Generative Ranking of Motion Capture." European Conference on Computer Vision, 2018.
• C. Kim, C. Collins. "Lexichrome: Examining Word-Color Associations with Visualization." IEEE Conf. on Information Visualization (InfoVis), 2014.

Talks, Exhibitions, and Presentations

• C. Kim, "Lexichrome: Text Construction and Lexical Discovery with Word-Color Associations Using Interactive Visualization." Kaleidoscope Lecture Series, Colour Research Society of Canada, 2021.
• D. Quick, D. Burke, C. Kim, "MUSICA: Musical Interactive Collaborative Agent." DARPA CwC PI Meeting, 2020.
• T. Yiu, C. Kim, "Partial Gallery, Toronto's Curated Artist Directory." Daegu Art Fair, 2019.
• C. Kim, "Navigating Creative Industries as an Independent Contractor." Open House and Micro-Conference: Life as an Emerging Professional, 2019.
• C. Kim, "A Mixed Initiative Platform for: Explanation, Conversation, and Commonsense in Movies." IRAD Poster Day Social, SRI International, 2018.
• C. Kim, "Built From Scratch: Custom Microsite with HTML and CSS." Freelancer Workshop Series, Ryerson Communication & Design Society, 2018.
• T. Yiu, C. Kim, "Partial Gallery, Online Art Rental and Sales Service." Interior Design Show, 2017.
• C. Kim, "Visual Text Analytics Tools from vialab: Gutenberg Galaxy and Lexichrome." DigiCafé Series, Digital Humanities @ Guelph, 2017.

Technologies

Frontend Web Development

HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, ReactJS, Angular

Backend Web Development

PHP, ASP.NET (C# and Visual Basic), MySQL, MSSQL, Python

Mobile Application Development

Java and Android SDK, Objective C, PhoneGap, Flutter, React Native

Motion Graphics Production

After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, Final Cut Pro

Awards, Grants, and Recognition

• 2020 SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant
• 2018 PPAI Pyramid Award (Silver)
• 2018 US Patent (10789755): “Artificial intelligence in interactive storytelling”
• 2015 Dean’s Graduate Scholarship
• 2015 NSERC Engage Grant
• 2014 Canadian Weblog Awards
• 2014 Elle Fashion Film Competition
• 2014 Whistler Film Festival
• 2012 Gordon F. Keeble Award
• 2012 Toronto Korean Film Festival
• 2012 SHORTSNONSTOP Film Competition
• 2011 OCNA Awards and Campus Technology Innovators Awards Nomination
• 2010 Applied Arts Magazine Awards
• 2009 TARA Awards Nominations
• 2008 TARA Awards
• Featured in: Applied Arts Magazine, étapes, echoReview