Aurélien Tabard

Aurélien Tabard is an Associate Professor at LIRIS (Laboratoire d'InfoRmatique en Image et Systèmes d'information), a joint research unit between Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and CNRS. His academic career spans over a decade with positions at prestigious institutions including the IT University of Copenhagen, University of Munich, and INRIA. He completed his PhD at Université Paris-Sud in 2009, focusing on supporting lightweight reflection on familiar information.

Tabard's research centers on convivial informatics, exploring alternatives to computational platforms that consider digital limits and foster sufficiency, maintenance, autonomy, and durability. His work emphasizes participatory approaches to designing resilient infrastructures and tools for rapid prototyping by non-designers. He investigates software obsolescence, digital sufficiency, and the materiality of data physicalization through projects like Limites Numériques and PC4-Congrats within PEPR eNSEMBLE.

His recent publications reveal strong trends toward sustainability in computing, examining how digital systems can be designed with longevity and environmental impact in mind. There's a clear progression from technical HCI research toward broader societal implications of digital technology, particularly focusing on how users experience aging devices and negotiate digital limits collectively.

• Honorable mention award for 'Obsolescence Paths: living with aging devices' at ICT4S 2023
• Student Lea Mosesso received the prize for best MSc thesis from Conseil National du Numérique

Tabard actively mentors PhD students including Maëva Calmettes (working on skill and expertise sharing), Edlira Nano (studying software obsolescence), and Lea Mosesso (researching digital sufficiency). He collaborates extensively with researchers across France and internationally, particularly with Inria Lille where he spent a sabbatical in 2023. His current projects involve understanding software obsolescence, digital sufficiency, and the interplay between micro design decisions and systemic forces shaping ICT.

He leads the Limites Numériques team, which investigates how to design computational platforms that take digital limits into consideration. The team recently developed an exhibit on water in the digital sector that will travel to Rhône-Alpes in spring 2025. Tabard also contributes to participatory design tools and critical approaches to participatory design, working with colleagues like Nolwenn Maudet, Thomas Thibault, and Romain Rouvoy.