I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida and direct the Ruiz Human-Computer Interaction Lab. I was previously an Assistant Professor at Colorado State University. I received my doctorate degree in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo in 2012 where I worked under the supervision of Dr. Edward Lank. I also hold a MS in Computer Science from San Francisco State University and a BS in Psychology from UC Davis.

The main goal of my research in human-computer interaction is to develop an understanding of users and technology to support user interaction. For more information about some of my research projects visit my Projects section or the Ruiz HCI Lab website.

Recent Highlights

08-2020 - Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure!

Current Funding

ENKIx: Enabling Knowledgeable Task Guidance In the extremes. Role: PI. Agency: DARPA. 2021-2025. $2,819,768

CAREER: Next Generation Multimodal Interfaces. Role: PI. Agency: NSF. 2018-2023. $504,104

Collaborative Research: SaTC: CORE: Medium: Toward Age-Aware Continuous Authentication on Personal Computing Devices. Role: Co-PI. Agency: NSF. 2021-2023. $255,486

SCH: INT: Enabling real-time surveillance of antimicrobial resistance. Role: Co-PI. Agency: NSF. 2021-2024. $1,203,178

CHS: Medium: Collaborative Research: Electromyography (EMG)- based Assistive Human-Machine Interface Design: Cognitive Workload and Motor Skill Learning Assessment. Role: Co-PI. Agency: NSF. 2019-2022. $480,000

Evaluation of an Adaptive Intervention for Weight Loss Maintenance. Role: Co-PI. Agency: NIH. 2019-2024. $2,996,032