The Human Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) is a partnership of the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) in the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CMPS) and the College of Information Studies - Maryland's iSchool.

The iSchool is proud to support the HCIL with space and other resources. This multidisciplinary research center is internationally respected for its long history of ground breaking research that spans a range of topics including visualization, usability testing, children’s technology, and more recently, social computing.

Started in 1983 by founding director and professor of computer science, Ben Shneiderman, the HCIL celebrated its twenty-fifth birthday in 2008. In 2000 the directorship passed to Ben Bederson, associate professor in computer science and UMIACS, and then in 2006 to Allison Druin, associate professor in the iSchool and UMIACS.

A central premise of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is that technology should be usable. Users should feel in control and empowered by the technology design. The focus on using computers to handle all kinds of information - storing, searching, retrieving, communicating and sharing information - makes Maryland’s iSchool a natural home for HCI. With over half of its faculty involved in HCI research and teaching, the iSchool has the largest membership of any college in the University of Maryland.

In March 2008, the iSchool proudly celebrated opening its newly refurbished research facility on the second floor of the Hornbake building (south wing), which includes research labs and offices for students, faculty and staff in the HCIL. In December 2008 Jennifer Preece, Dean of the iSchool, Stephen Halperin, Dean of the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CMPS), Professor Larry Davis, Chair of Computer Science Department, and Professor V.S. Subrahmanian, Director, University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) agreed that the iSchool should be a partner in the HCIL in recognition of its increasing contribution to HCI research and teaching.

Dean Preece commented: “this partnership paves the way for even greater iSchool involvement in HCI. I hope it will encourage joint programs with Computer Science and units across campus that enable more students to engage in HCI. This will raise Maryland’s prominence in the HCI community. The proliferation of social media like Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter will touch everyone’s life. We have already seen how clever use of these technologies has engaged young people across our nation and shaped the election of Barack Obama. Every student graduating from the iSchool could be an HCI ambassador capable of recognizing and speaking authoritatively about the role and design of technology in information handling. I am sure that under Allison Druin’s energetic leadership HCIL will continue to flourish.”

HCIL Director, Allison Druin also commented, "With the addition of the iSchool's involvement in the HCIL, we look forward to greater interdisciplinary collaborations which can lead to new and exciting research opportunities for the lab's faculty, staff, and students."