My real research interest is in unusual user interfaces. (It's the interfaces that are unusual. Generally.) I don't find it very interesting sitting in front of a screen and keyboard. I like computers that you hang on the wall, or that you fix to your car dashboard, or that send messages to your phone. Computers that know when you're sitting in front of them, and what to do when you're not. Computers that know where you left that book you were reading. That sort of stuff...
I'm currently working on a couple of fun projects at AT&T - you can find out more about them here.
My Ph.D. thesis subject was Video-Augmented Environments, in which I looked at ways of using video input for the creation of novel human-computer interfaces. Video cameras cost little more now than keyboards and mice, and there are plenty of interesting things you can do with them, but at present it often isn't worth the programming effort. I built an architecture which allowed you to create simple 'triggering' circuits from basic components (sources, sinks, filters & sensors) using a scripting language.
My chief example of this was BrightBoard, a program which monitors whiteboards and can perform a variety of actions when appropriate marks are made on the board. A paper called "BrightBoard: A Video-Augmented Environment" appeared in the Proceedings of CHI'96. It is also a EuroPARC Technical Report, or you can get it here as:
If you're really keen, my Ph.D. thesis is available as: