About Greg
Welcome. It's great to have you here. My name is Greg O'Toole and this is otoole.info. I am a webmedia technologist, working in webmedia consulting, theory, research, development, and education from the PA I-99 Innovation Corridor. For about 20 years I have been working professionally in technical creative media. (Before that time, I started painting still life in first grade.) In 2000 I took an HTML class at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, got instantly hooked on the intersection of computer science, creative expression, and human psychology and never looked back. Parts of my career have been spent as a writer and photojournalist in remote, northwest Montana; as an environmental engineering technical writer for Sunoco, Inc. at the Philadelphia refineries; and as a faculty member and Web applications developer for the University of Denver and, now, Penn State University and The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division. These days I live valid rooting distance from the home of the Philadelphia Phillies and Flyers. Simultaneously, I am lucky to live on the edge of 2.3 million acres of protected public wilderness: a stone's throw away from some of the best trout streams in the country. I spend my professional time on the following topics: lightweight, scalable, accessible, mobile, usable, creative Web development, research, photography, writing, and user interface engineering. We have arrived at a point where we now need to specify our discourse about "HCI" or human-computer interface, and include the more direct process of "BCI" or brain-computer interface, so my long term interests go a bit further than creating cool web projects for exceptionally cool people. For that reason, I have a more formal biograph below. Take a look around and enjoy the site. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to give me a shout.---------------------------
Gregory O'Toole (b. 1973) is a webmedia technologist who works full time as a creative Web consultant, researcher, analyst, developer, and faculty member in State College, PA. Greg has won numerous awards for his visual artwork, writing, photojournalism, Internet and multimedia development, and teaching on these topics. His main interests are the fascinating intersections of human-computer interface research and development, media literacy, media and the environment, and locative media.
STATEMENT
Greg works in media theory as a self-termed technomadologist. Technomadology is the study of contemporary, technology-dependent, nomadic human culture, information theory, inter-media, and emphasizes creative processes of generating experimental research, methods, art, and literature as critical discourse toward a greater understanding of the prevailing social, economic, and political condition(s). The work began in Chicago, Illinois in 1995 and is centered around the study and understanding of the role of media communication technology across human history, present, and future. In brief, Greg is interested in understanding human activity overlaid by the mediated system in hopes of educating and advancing a comprehensive civic literacy.
CURRENT POSITIONS
Greg currently works as a webmedia technologist for Penn State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, USA where he works in front end web development, research, and teaches in digital media. He manages the Web presence of several PSU web sites and has offered workshops to faculty, staff, and graduate students on various related topics. Greg is also an "Excellence in Teaching Award"-winning member of the Media Arts faculty at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division in the Web Design and Interactive Media Department where he teaches related classes, and has a lot of fun offering seminars on contemporary Web topics.
MEDIA EFFECTS RESEARCH
Greg has begun early examinations as the Principal Investigator and media theorist for a new body of medialogical scientific research exploring brain response and neuro-physiological effects of media through electroencephalographic (EEG) examinations. The research project is made possible by a research grant from the Human Electrophysiology Facility in the Social, Life, and Engineering Sciences Imaging Center in conjunction with the Social Science Research Institute and the Huck Institute for the Life Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University.
Greg has begun early examinations as the Principal Investigator and media theorist for a new body of medialogical scientific research exploring brain response and neuro-physiological effects of media through electroencephalographic (EEG) examinations. The research project is made possible by a research grant from the Human Electrophysiology Facility in the Social, Life, and Engineering Sciences Imaging Center in conjunction with the Social Science Research Institute and the Huck Institute for the Life Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Over the past 20+ years Greg has traveled extensively in North America and has been involved in professional partnerships across the United States, Europe, and Australia working with a wide range of leading clients, contracts, and partners, as well as with academic, artistic, and philanthropy projects in collaboration with colleges, universities, galleries, and public welfare groups. Greg is an Adobe trained Coldfusion web developer,
Over the past 20+ years Greg has traveled extensively in North America and has been involved in professional partnerships across the United States, Europe, and Australia working with a wide range of leading clients, contracts, and partners, as well as with academic, artistic, and philanthropy projects in collaboration with colleges, universities, galleries, and public welfare groups. Greg is an Adobe trained Coldfusion web developer,
and has worked in development, design, technical writing and educational technology.
EDUCATION
Greg received a B.S. in Communication Photography from Bradley University (1995), worked on Post-Baccalaureate studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2000), and completed the M.A. in Digital Media Studies from the University of Denver (2005). Currently, Greg is a doctoral candidate (Ph.D. ABD) in Media and Communication at the European Graduate School, Saas-fee, Switzerland, where he is writing a dissertation on the relationship of self, medium, and environment from the time of Jean-Francois Lyotard’s ‘eradication of the metanarrative’ to the end of the 20th Century.
EDUCATION
Greg received a B.S. in Communication Photography from Bradley University (1995), worked on Post-Baccalaureate studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2000), and completed the M.A. in Digital Media Studies from the University of Denver (2005). Currently, Greg is a doctoral candidate (Ph.D. ABD) in Media and Communication at the European Graduate School, Saas-fee, Switzerland, where he is writing a dissertation on the relationship of self, medium, and environment from the time of Jean-Francois Lyotard’s ‘eradication of the metanarrative’ to the end of the 20th Century.
GRANTS - RECOGNITION AWARDS
For his work Greg has received grant funds and recognition awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Montana Arts Council, International Memefest, Webby Award, Colorado Book Award, Denver Westword, Valparaiso University Poetry Review, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, National Campaign for Tolerance, Montana Newspaper Association, and the University of Denver Graduate School among others. Greg is currently working on a research grant at Penn State.
PUBLICATIONS - EXHIBITIONS
Greg's exploratory critical, literary and visual work has been published in peer reviewed venues and exhibited in group and one-man shows around the world in outlets such as the New York Times, Denver Post, Chicago Sun-Times, University of Montana, Rhonda Schaller Gallery New York, Jest Gallery, Buffalo Trails Gallery, International Digital Media & Arts (iDMAa) IDEAS Exhibition at National University, Adirondack Review, Kotka Finland Photographic Center, Georgetown College, CellBytes International Australia, British Journal of Educational Technology, Learning Technology from the IEEE Computer Society, International Journal of the Arts in Society, the Rocky Mountain Communication Review, in a book titled "A Handbook on Digital Media and Advertising" from the University of Texas, Austin and IGI Global, and abstracts have been published by the National Communication Association.
For his work Greg has received grant funds and recognition awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Montana Arts Council, International Memefest, Webby Award, Colorado Book Award, Denver Westword, Valparaiso University Poetry Review, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, National Campaign for Tolerance, Montana Newspaper Association, and the University of Denver Graduate School among others. Greg is currently working on a research grant at Penn State.
PUBLICATIONS - EXHIBITIONS
Greg's exploratory critical, literary and visual work has been published in peer reviewed venues and exhibited in group and one-man shows around the world in outlets such as the New York Times, Denver Post, Chicago Sun-Times, University of Montana, Rhonda Schaller Gallery New York, Jest Gallery, Buffalo Trails Gallery, International Digital Media & Arts (iDMAa) IDEAS Exhibition at National University, Adirondack Review, Kotka Finland Photographic Center, Georgetown College, CellBytes International Australia, British Journal of Educational Technology, Learning Technology from the IEEE Computer Society, International Journal of the Arts in Society, the Rocky Mountain Communication Review, in a book titled "A Handbook on Digital Media and Advertising" from the University of Texas, Austin and IGI Global, and abstracts have been published by the National Communication Association.
COLLECTIONS - ARCHIVE
Greg’s poetry has become part of the permanent collections of the University of California at Berkeley, Northwestern University, John Carroll University, The Art Institute of Chicago's Poetry Center, the University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Chicago Library, and Columbia College.
EDITORIAL - SERVICE - TEACHING
When asked, Greg serves as an Associate Editor of The International Journal of the Arts in Society and as a web and media consultant for PBS on the Frontline Digital Strategy Advisory Group. Greg has taught media studies courses and seminars for Baker College, University of Denver, Long Island University Brooklyn, and Loyola University Chicago.
When asked, Greg serves as an Associate Editor of The International Journal of the Arts in Society and as a web and media consultant for PBS on the Frontline Digital Strategy Advisory Group. Greg has taught media studies courses and seminars for Baker College, University of Denver, Long Island University Brooklyn, and Loyola University Chicago.
