Shaun T.

O’Brien
Email: ShaunObrien@asu.edu 4519 E Tremaine Ave
Phone: (480) 440-4004 Gilbert, AZ 85234

EDUCATION

Anticipated Northern Arizona University

2019 Graduate Certificate, Educational Technology

2017 Arizona State University

MS, Technical Communication
Thesis: Interpretations of Data in Ethical vs. Unethical Data Visualizations
Committee: Claire Lauer (Chair), Eva Brumberger, and Barbara D’Angelo

2014 Arizona State University

B.S., Technical Communication
Minor, Media Analysis
Magna Cum Laude honors
Academic Dean’s List Certificate 2012 - 2014

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS

• Design of Communication • Professional Writing
• User Experience • Technical Communication
• Visual Rhetoric • Digital Rhetoric
• Cultural Rhetoric • Visual Literacy

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2017 – Present Research Advancement Administrator Senior

Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University
• Perform pre-award research advancement administrative support to
Biodesign research faculty and graduate students
• Mentor junior administrative staff

2015 – 2017 Research Advancement Administrator

College of Nursing & Health Innovation, Arizona State University
• Perform pre-award research advancement administrative support to the
College of Nursing & Health Innovation research faculty and graduate
students
• Developed and Presented pre-award workshops to junior research
faculty

2014 – 2015 Proposal Coordinator

STARA Technologies Inc.
• Developed the first ever proposal tracking and numbering system
• Created the company’s Marketing and Communications strategy
• Re-established the social media accounts and branding standards

2012 – 2014 Proposal Coordinator/Technical Writer

Vertex Resource Group Ltd
• Created first ever company style guide for external reporting and
communication standards;
• Worked with consulting and environmental divisions on reporting,
proposal development, and communication strategies
• Write, edit, and publish reports, policy documents, and external
communications

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 2007 – 2012 Reporting Coordinator/Engineering Technician
TRAX International Corporation
• Supervised a team of technical writers on several simultaneous
programs
• Proofread and published technical reports for DoD equipment testing

ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS
2018 O’Brien, Shaun T. and Lauer, Claire (2018, August). Testing the Susceptibility of Users
to Deceptive Data Visualizations When Paired with Explanatory Text: Research Paper. In
Proceedings of SIGDOC '18. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 9 pages.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3233756.3233961

PRESENTATIONS
2018 O’Brien, Shaun T. (2018, August). Testing the Susceptibility of Users to Deceptive Data
Visualizations When Paired with Explanatory Text: Research Paper Presented at
Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Design of
Communication (ACM-SIGDOC) Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

O’Brien, Shaun T. (2018, March). Interpretations of Data in Ethical vs. Unethical Data
Visualizations When Paired with Explanatory Text. Poster presented at Northern Arizona
University Graduate Student Government (GSG) Poster Symposium, Flagstaff, Arizona

2017 O’Brien, Shaun T. (2017, August). Interpretations of Data in Ethical vs. Unethical Data
Visualizations. Poster presented at Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest
Group on Design of Communication (ACM-SIGDOC) Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia,
Canada

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

ASU Grant Application Budgeting Workshop, 2016-2017

ASU Grant Submission Workshop, 2016-2017
STARA Proposal Preparation, 2015
Vertex Style Guide Introduction and Information Workshop, 2013
RedCross Assisted in CPR and First-Aid course, 2004

SERVICE AND OUTREACH

2018 Employee Awards Selection Committee, Arizona State University

2016 – Current Volunteer, Highland High school
2014 – 2015 Editor, Sourced Media Books

HONORS, AWARDS, AND GRANTS

2017 ACM-SIGDOC Student Research Competition Graduate Finalist ($500)

2016 - 2017 SUN Award Employee Recognition Program

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Special Interest Group on the Design of Communication (SIGDOC)
Society of Technical Communicators (STC)
National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA)
Arizona State University Alumni
ASU Graduate & Professional Student Association

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