Short CV
Ilona Heldal
Contact details
Chalmers University of Technology
Dept. of Technology Management and Economics
Div. for Technology and Society
Vera Sandbergs Allé 8
SE 412 96 Gothenburg
Sweden
Email:
Phone:
ilona.heldal@chalmers.se
+46 (0)31-772 11 18 (work),
+46 (0)731-526313 (mobile)
http://www.chalmers.se/tme/SV/organisation/personliga-sidor/heldal-ilona
WWW:
Research background
The basic premises and the main characteristics of collaboration are changing nowadays.
Changed market needs, networking and more extensive use of information and communication
technologies (ICTs) set new requirements on designing, developing, rolling-out, updating, and
using new technologies. To treat current problems and to explore future possibilities for more
supportive ICTs, interdisciplinary research is required. The current challenges include issues
ranging from social science and humanities to considering technology innovation, development
and use. I have performed research in several interdisciplinary projects on the following topics:
computer-supported collaborative work, human-computer interaction, social interaction, presence,
collaboration, information technology (IT) and co-work for global distributed settings, visualization,
and more recently innovation, knowledge transfer, IT adoption in organizations, technology
assessment and governance in inter-organizational cooperation, especially for public safety.
Research objectives
My scientific work aims to define basic requirements and to develop better understanding for
more effective and enjoyable collaboration via new technologies. The focus is on distributed
communication and collaboration.
Education
2009
2004
2003
1998
Associate Professor, the Swedish docent level “oavlönad docent” in Technology
Management
PhD, Dept. of Technology and Society, School of Management of Technology,
Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden
Thesis: The Usability of Collaborative Virtual Environments: Towards an
Evaluation Framework.
Supervisor: Prof. Ralph Schroeder, Oxford University
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/faculty.cfm?id=26
Opponent: Prof. Mel Slater, University College London
http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/M.Slater/
Licentiate, Dept. of Technology and Society, School of Management of Technology,
Chalmers University of Technology
Thesis: Usability of Collaborative Virtual Environments, Technical and Social
Aspects.
MSc., Dept. of Computer Science, Chalmers University of Technology
Employment
2006 –
2004 – 2006
1999 – 2004
1994 – 2002
1992 – 1994
1988 – 1989
Assistant Professor, Div. of Technology and Society,
Dept. of Technology Management and Organization,
Chalmers University of Technology
PhD researcher, Dept. of Technology Management and Organization,
Chalmers University of Technology
PhD student
Systems expert in mobile data communication at Eritel, later Ericsson Mobile
Data Design, later: Ericsson AB, Gothenburg
Part-time teaching and computer support at the Dept. of Computer Science,
Chalmers University of Technology
Programmer, system developer at Szerelvényértékesítö Vállalat, Budapest,
Hungary
Teaching
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Industrial economy and societal changes
Technology and Society
Computers, Communication and Social Networks
Technology in a Global Sustainable Society
Social Aspects of Human Computer Interaction
Diversity in organizations
New Media (2006 – 2007, 2008 – 2009)
Diversity by games
Human–Computer Interaction
Social Networks
Technical Changes, Use and Usability
PhD Supervision
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Main supervisor for Kaj Sunesson. His work focuses on using new technologies to support
decision-making.
Secondary supervisor for four PhD students: Ard-Paru Nattawut, Pratompong Srinuan, Chalita
Srinuan and Orada Teppayayon. They are examining the use of broadband and mobile
technologies and issues related from policy to use of these technologies.
Beata Stahre (defended her PhD successfully on 20 February 2009). The title of her thesis is:
“How to Convert Reality into Virtual Reality: Exploring Visual Appearance and Spatial
Experience Focusing on Colours”.
MSc Supervision
During and after my PhD studies I have supervised several completed MSc theses. Latest:
Andreas Ahlmer and Anders Höckenström, “3D-visualization as Support for Communication: Facilitating
Decision Making in Road Planning”.
Professional Activities
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I am a member of the Faculty Senate at Chalmers University of Technology, since 2008.
I have been invited to review EU grants. Recently (February 2009) I was in Brussels to evaluate
(together with six other experts) 7 Cost open call applications: http://www.cost.esf.org/about_cost
in the ICT domain.
Invited lecturer and in the committee for the workshop Create 2009:
http://www.create.uwe.ac.uk/news.htm
Conference committee member for IEEE/ACM DS-RT, since 2005.
Conference committee member for the International Workshop on Presence, since 2005.
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On the board of directors for Virtual Systems and Multimedia (VSMM), since 2005.
In 2007 I co-organized the workshop on “Research and science evaluation”, together with Tobias
Fredberg.
Reviewed applications for research grants in Norway (for the Norwegian Research Council).
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Reviewing
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Papers and notes for several conferences (almost every year since 2004): the ACM conference on
human factors and computing system CHI, the ACM conference on computer-supported
collaborative work CSCW, IEEE Virtual Reality, IEEE 3D User Interfaces conferences, the ACM
workshop on universal interface software technology UIST, International workshop on Presence,
International conference in virtual systems and multimedia: VSMM.
For the MIT Journal of Presence, Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, the Springer Journal of
Virtual Reality, the Bentham Open Journal of Virtual Reality, International Journal on Universal
Access in the Information Society (UAIS), Journal of Softwares and System, Journal of Universal
Computer Science, Journal of Interacting with Computers, Journal of Urban and Landscape
Planning, and later International Journal of Knowledge and Web Intelligence, Journal of
Cognition, Technology and Work.
Several book chapters in edited books about virtual communities, Virtual Reality, Presence etc.
I am a member of
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A group coordinated by Michael Landzelius (Dept of Sociology, GU) on research in the areas
Security, Risk and Emergency.
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
International Society for Presence Researchers (ISPR)
Board of directors for Virtual Systems and Multimedia (VSMM)
Center of Visualization, Göteborg (BRG – visualisering)
Grants
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I am the research leader for the project “Mobila bredbandstjänster för myndighetsanvändare”,
financed by Vinnova, coordinated by Lindholmen Science Park, Security Arena. I am responsible
for the budget allocation 800,000 SEK for 2009-2010. The total budget was 1 MSEK.
Together with Tobias Fredberg we conducted a project on “Assessing research” in the research
areas for the Dept. of Technology Management and Economics. The total budget was 120,000
SEK.
From Chalmers’ rector, “särskild satsning” for 2006-2007, 1,000,000 SEK.
For the project “Diversity in IT Education” (as a part of the project supervised by Samuel
Bengtmark) I obtained 180,000 SEK during 2005-2006.
I am involved in the EU call: Information Society Technologies (IST), a CA call: Peach, about
Presence Research in Action. (http://www.peachbit.org)
Received several grants for visiting other universities and participating in international
conferences….
Projects, leadership
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I am responsible for the project “Blåljuskommunikation för myndighetsanvändare” which included
three sub-projects, one where Gustav Sjöblom was responsible, one where Erik Bohlin was responsible
and one conducted by me. Furthermore, the project was based on a Candidate project, a project that a
group of students performed for us in San Francisco, and one (again, a student project) performed in
Japan. (2009 – 2010)
I am responsible for the e-Science projects at the Department of Technology Management and
Economics, since 2008.
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Activities to disseminate the results for a larger public
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Interviewed by the Hungarian channel TV2 for the series “Choose the knowledge” on virtual reality
research in June 2008 and September 2006 (both times in Hungarian).
I was a speaker at Vetenskapsfestivalen in Göteborg, on Virtual Environments: Are we going to live
in virtual worlds? (In Swedish, 21 April 2007).
I was interviewed on the future of Virtual Reality by the newspaper Tekla, 2007.
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Publication list
Refereed journal papers:
Heldal I. (Accepted paper 2010) The Role of the Web in Launching and Using Radio
Communication for Public Safety International Journal of Knowledge and Web Intelligence
Sunesson K., Allwood C.M., Paulin D., Heldal I., Roupé M., Johansson M., Westerdahl B. (2008) Virtual
Reality as a New Tool in the City Planning Process, Journal of Tsingua Science and Technology, ISSN
1007-0214, 13(1), pp. 255-260.
Heldal I. (2007) The Impact of Social Interaction on Usability for Distributed Virtual Environment,
Journal of Virtual Reality, 6(3), pp. 45-54.
Heldal I. (2007) Supporting Participation for Planning New Roads by Using Virtual Reality Systems,
Journal of Virtual Reality, Special Issue for E-society, Springer Verlag, 11(2), pp: 145-159.
Schroeder R., Heldal I., Tromp J. (2006) The Usability of Virtual Environments and Methods for the
Analysis of Interaction, Journal Presence: Teleoperators in Virtual Environments, MIT Press, 15(6), pp.
655-667.
Roberts D., Heldal I., Wolff R., Otto O. (2006) Factors Influencing Flow of Object-Focused
Collaboration in Collaborative Virtual Environment, Journal of Virtual Reality, Special Issue for
Collaborative Virtual Environments for Creative People, 10(2), pp. 119-133.
Heldal I., Steed A., Spante M., Schroeder R., Bengtsson S., Partanen M. (2005) Successes and Failures in
Copresent Situations, Journal Presence: Teleoperators in Virtual Environments, 14(5), MIT Press, 14(5),
pp. 563-569.
Schroeder, R., Steed, A., Axelsson, A.S., Heldal, I., Abelin, Å., Wideström, J., Nilsson, A., Slater, M.
(2001) Collaborating in networked immersive spaces: as good as being there together? Journal of
Computers & Graphics, 25, pp. 781-788.
Axelsson, A.S., Abelin, Å., Heldal, I., Schroeder, R., Wideström, J. (2001) Cubes in the Cube: A
Comparison of a Puzzle-Solving Task in a Virtual and a Real Environment. Journal of Cyber
Psychology & Behaviour, 4 (2) April, pp. 279-286.
Refereed conference papers (including refereed international workshop
papers):
Sunesson, K., Heldal, I. (2010), Knowledge Barriers in Launching new Telecommunications for Public
Safety, To be presented at the 7th International Conference on Intellectual Capital, Knowledge
Management & Organizational Learning, Hong Kong, November 11-12.
Heldal, I., Sjöblom, G., Bohlin, E., Sunesson, K. (2010), New Technologies Meet New Blocking Effects:
Launching Wireless Technology Systems for Public Safety, In the Proceeding of the International
Conference for ITS’2010, Tokyo, June.
Heldal, I., Forge, S., Bohlin, E. (2010), Taking the Old or Waiting for Take-off? Launching and Using
Digital Radio for Public Safety, European Conference on Innovation Management, In the Proceeding
of EURAM Conference, Rome, Italy, 18-22 May.
Heldal, I., Spante M. (2009) Assessing Collaboration in Virtual Environments, Workshop Challenges in
Evaluating Usability and User Experience in Reality Based Interaction at CHI’2009.
Heldal I., Bråthe L., Stahre B. (2008) The Influence of Virtual Environment Technologies on
Estimating Object Sizes and Colours, In Proceeding of the International Conference on Virtual Systems
and Multimedia VSMM 2008, Limassol, Cyprus, pp. 43-49.
Sunesson K., Allwood C.M., Heldal I., Paulin D. Roupé M., Johansson M., Westerdahl B. (2008) Virtual
Reality Supporting Environmental Planning Processes: A Case Study of the City Library in
Gothenburg, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, KES 2008, Part III, LNAI 5179.
Stahre B., van Raalte S., Heldal I. (2008) Sketching Techniques in Virtual Reality: Evaluation of
texturing styles in an urban planning model, In Proceeding of the International Conference on Virtual
Systems and Multimedia VSMM 2008, Limassol, Cyprus, pp. 230-238.
Heldal I., Stahre B., Spante M., Billger M. (2008) The influence of the applied technologies on
estimating graphical representations, Nordic-Baltic Conference arranged by The Nordic Association of
Architectural Research: Architectural Inquires, 24-26 April 2008.
Heldal I., Roberts D., Bråthe L., Wolff R. (2007) Presence, Creativity and Collaborative Work in
Virtual Environments, Invited paper for the conference of HCI International 2007, the 12th International
Conference on Human Computer Interaction, July 2007, Beijing, China.
Heldal I., Spante M., Connell M., (2006) Are Two Heads Better than One? Object-focused
Collaboration in Distributed Virtual Environments, ACM Symposium of Virtual Reality System
Technologies VRST’2006, Limassol, Cyprus, pp. 287-296.
Heldal I. (2006) The Influence of Social Interaction on Usability for Collaborative Virtual
Environments, In Proceeding of Central European Virtual Reality Conference, Eger, Hungary, pp 53-66.
Heldal I., van Raalte S., Balot K. (2005) Using Virtual Reality Systems to Support Public Participation
in Planning New Roads, In Proceeding of the 11th International Conference on Virtual Systems and
Multimedia, VSMM’2005, October, Belgium, pp. 76-89.
Heldal I., Steed A., Schroeder R. (2005) Evaluating Collaboration in Distributed Virtual Environments
for a Puzzle-solving Task, HCI International 2005, 22-27 July 2005, Las Vegas.
Heldal I., Schroeder, R., Steed, A., Axelsson, A.S., Spante, M., Wideström, J. (2005) Immersiveness and
Symmetry in Copresent Scenarios, In Proceeding of IEEE VR’2005, March 2005, Bonn, Germany, pp.
171-178.
Steed A., Roberts D., Schroeder R., Heldal I. (2005) Interaction Between Users of Immersion Projection
Technology Systems, HCI International 2005, the 11th International Conference on Human Computer
Interaction, 22-27 July 2005, Las Vegas.
Heldal I.(2004) Collaborative Activity Sequences Influencing Usability in Distributed Immersive
Virtual Environments, In Proceeding of the 10th International Conference on Virtual Systems and
Multimedia VSMM’2004, Ogaki, Japan, November 2004, pp. 1214-23.
Billger M., Heldal I., Stahre B., Renström K. (2004) Perception of Color and Space in Virtual Reality: a
Comparison between Real Room and Virtual Reality Models, In Proceeding of Human Vision and
Electronic Imaging IX, San Jose, California, pp. 90-98.
Schroeder R., Heldal I. (2004) The Usability of Shared Virtual Environments: A Comparison of Three
Studies and Outlook on the Future, In Proceeding of International Workshop on Designing and
Evaluating Virtual Reality Systems, Nottingham University, January 2004, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Heldal I. (2004) Usability Development for Collaborative Virtual Environments, In Proceeding of
International Workshop on Designing and Evaluating Virtual Reality Systems, Nottingham University,
January 2004, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Billger M., Heldal I. (2003) Virtual Environments Versus a Full-Scale Model for Examining Colours
and Space, In Proceeding of the First International Conference on Virtual Concepts in November 2003,
Biarritz, France, pp. 249-256.
Spante M., Heldal I., Schroeder R., Axelsson A.S. (2003) Is there a Trade-off between Presence and
Copresence?, In Proceeding of 6th Annual International Workshop on Presence, October 2003, Aarhus.
Heldal I. (2003) The Treatment of Collaboration in the Usability Evaluation Models for Collaborative
Virtual Environments, In Proceeding of HCI International 2003, the 10th International Conference on
Human–Computer Interaction, 22-27 June 2003, Crete, pp. 914-918.
Steed A., Spante M., Heldal I., Axelsson A.S., Schroeder R. (2003) Strangers and Friends in Caves: An
Exploratory Study of Collaboration in Networked IPT Systems for Extended Periods of Time, ACM
SIGGRAPH 2003 Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics, 27-30 April 2003, ACM Press, pp. 577-584.
Spante, M., Heldal, I., Steed, A., Axelsson, A.S., Schroeder, R. (2003) Strangers and Friends in
Networked Immersive Environments: Virtual Spaces for Future Living, HOIT 2003: The Networked
Home and the Home of the Future, San Jose, California.
Heldal I., Schroeder R. (2002) Immersive Versus Desktop Multi-user Virtual Environments for
Understanding Complex Models. In Proceeding of the 8th International Conference on Virtual Systems
and Multimedia VSMM’2002. September 2002, Gyeongju, Korea, pp. 208-220.
Steed A., Abelin A., Axelsson A.S., Heldal I., Nilsson A., Schroeder R., Salter M., Wideström J. (2001)
Solving a 3D Cube Puzzle in a Collaborative Virtual Environment: As Good as Really Being There
Together? Siggraph 2001, L.A., USA, August 12-17.
Wideström J., Abelin A., Axelsson A.S., Heldal I., Nilsson A., Schroeder R. (2001) The Collaborative
Cube Puzzle: A Comparison of Virtual and Real Environments, ACM Conference on Collaborative
Virtual Environments (CVE), San Francisco, USA, pp.165-171.
Wideström J., Axelsson AS., Schroeder R., Nilsson A., Heldal I., & Abelin Å. ( 2000) The Collaborative
Cube Puzzle: A Comparison of Virtual and Real Environments. Cubes in the Cube: A Comparison
of Virtual and Real Environments. The 3rd International Workshop on Presence, Delft University of
Technology, Delft, The Netherlands, 27-28 March.
Schroeder R., Abelin A., Axelsson A.S., Heldal I., Nilsson A., Wideström J. (2000) A Comparison of
Virtual and Real Environments, The 3rd International Workshop on Presence, Delft University of
Technology, Delft, The Netherlands, 27-28 March.
Axelsson A.S., Abelin A., Heldal I., Nilsson A., Schroeder R.(1999) Collaboration and Communication
in Multi-User Virtual Environments: A Comparison of Desktop and Immersive Virtual Reality
Systems for Molecular Visualization, In Terence Fernando (ed.), Proceedings of the Sixth UKVRSIG
Conference, 14th September, Salford University, pp. 107-117.
Book chapters and theses:
Heldal I. (2010) The Usability of Collaborative Virtual Environments: Towards an Evaluation
Framework. Lambert Publication. Available at:
http://www.amazon.com/Usability-Collaborative-Virtual-EnvironmentsEvaluation/dp/3838336968/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271932777&sr=1-1
Heldal I., Bråthe L. (2009) “Single-user and group work in virtual environment: the role of creativity,
presence and performance”. In: Inaki Maurtua (ed.), Human-Computer Interaction, ISBN 978-953-307022-3, 560 pages, Available at:
http://sciyo.com/articles/show/title/understanding-group-work-in-virtual-environments-performancecreativity-and-presence
Heldal I., Roberts D., Bråthe L., Wolff R. (2007) Presence, Creativity and Collaborative Work in
Virtual Environments”, In Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, Interaction
Design and Usability, Springer Berlin/Heidelberg, pp. 802-811. (Also invited paper for the HCI’2007.)
Heldal I., Bråthe L., Steed A., Schroeder R. (2005) Interaction Fragments Influencing Collaboration in
Distributed Immersive Virtual Environments. In Schroeder R., Axelsson A.S. (eds.), Avatars at Work
and Play: Activities in Shared Virtual Environments, 2006, London, Springer Verlag.
Heldal I. (2004) The Usability of Collaborative Virtual Environments: Towards an Evaluation
Framework. PhD Thesis. Department of Technology and Society, Chalmers University, 2004.
Heldal I. (2003) Usability of Collaborative Virtual Environments. Technical and Social Aspects.
Licentiate Thesis. Department of Technology and Society, Chalmers University, 2003.
Nilsson A., Heldal I., Schroeder R, and Axelsson A.S. (2002) The Long-term Uses of Shared Virtual
Environments. An Exploratory Study. In R. Schroeder (ed.), The Social Life of Avatars, London:
Springer, pp. 112-126.
Other papers (non-refereed conference contributions, workshop
contributions, reports, posters):
Heldal I. (2010) “A Pilot Study: The Use of Mobile Broadband by Authorities.” Report to Vinnova, 15
January 2010, 31 pages and 3 appendices. Appended documents:
“Prerequisites for next generation public safety communication in Sweden – a longterm perspective on innovation and market structures” (24 pages, contribution from
Gustav Sjöblom)
“Rolling out a new digital telecommunication system for authorities in Sweden” (31
pages)
Future emergency services radio networks for Sweden and Europe” (contribution from
Simon Forge and Erik Bohlin (14 pages)
Heldal I., Bråthe L., Stahre B. (2008) Sketching Techniques in Virtual Reality: Evaluation of different
Texturing Styles, Chalmers Initiative Seminar, 7-8 October 2008.
Stahre B., Billger M., Heldal I., van Raalte S. (2008) The influence of visualization technologies on
estimating object sizes and colours, Chalmers Initiative Seminar, 7-8 October 2008.
Heldal I., (2007), Extending action research to handle the variation of class sizes, Report, 12 pp., July
2008.
Heldal I., Bengtsson S., Bengmark S. (2004) To Increase Diversity Awareness in Computer Technology
Education at Chalmers, Presented at the 2nd Nordic Symposium on Staff and Faculty Development in
Engineering Education, November 2004.
Billger M., Stahre B., Heldal I. (2004) The arbitrary road from reality to virtual reality. At the 3rd
International Congress Arquitectura 3000, June 30-July 3, 2004, Barcelona.
Bengtsson S., Heldal I. (2004) Diversity Awareness via Computer Games, Report at the Dept. of
Technology and Society and the Dept. of Computer Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology,
October 2004.
Heldal I. (2004) Time Design for Shared Virtual Environments, Presented at the Workshop Time
Design at CHI 2004, Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 24-29 April 2004.
Heldal I., Bråthe L., Schroeder R. (2003) Collaboration and Effectiveness for Distributed Meetings,
Poster presented at the 12th International World Wide Web Conference, 20-24 May, Budapest, Hungary.
Heldal I., Nielson A., Schroeder R., Axelsson A.S. (2001) Long-term Uses of Collaborative Virtual
Environments, Poster presented at ECSCW2001, Bonn, Germany.
Heldal I., (2001) On the Usability Concept for Collaborative Virtual Environments. In report of the
Learning Group workshop at the 7th European Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Work,
Bonn, Germany.