Andre van der Hoek

Andre van der Hoek is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), with expertise in software engineering, creativity, collaboration, and education. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder (2000) and a B.S./M.S. from Erasmus University Rotterdam (1994). His research focuses on advancing software design tools, collaborative practices, and environmental sustainability education through tool-driven methodologies. He leads a dynamic research group exploring topics like generative AI in software development, developer wellbeing, and accessibility challenges for visually impaired professionals.

Research Interests:

• Software Design & Creativity: Studying expert design processes and creating tools to enhance creativity and collaboration.
• Collaboration & Teamwork: Developing tools to improve team coordination and peer assessment (e.g., TeamCAST, Daily Smirk).
• Environmental Sustainability: Innovating educational approaches to connect sustainability with diverse disciplines.
• Education: Designing hands-on software engineering curricula and tools for instructors.

Recent Research Trends: His work emphasizes leveraging AI (especially generative models) to transform software development workflows, addressing accessibility barriers for blind/low-vision developers, and analyzing distributed team dynamics in hybrid environments. Key themes include tool-driven innovation, human-centric design, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Advising & Collaborations: Supervises over 20 graduate and undergraduate students (e.g., Vicki Jackson, Yu Lu) and collaborates with institutions like PUCRS (Brazil), Colorado College, and UC Irvine’s sustainability faculty. Active in projects funded by industry partnerships and grants.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Software Design & Creativity Research Group at UCI, focusing on tool development, empirical studies, and sustainability education initiatives.