Come, my friends, ’tis not too late to seek a newer world.

Tomorrow will be my last day at IBM Research – Almaden. I’ve had a lot of fun there over the last (almost) six years and learned a lot. (The week-long Micro MBA course is awesome; take it if you ever have the chance.) And I worked with a bunch of great people, both at Almaden and in IBM at large.

But after a lot of thought I’ve decided it’s time to try something new. There are so many interesting opportunities for mobile and multi-device user experiences right now that I want a more direct path to real world impact. I talked to a number of colleagues (and thanks to all of you who made the time to talk to me about your companies and the opportunities you were aware of), and after weighing the possibilities I’ve accepted an offer at the UX Innovations Lab at Samsung’s new(ish) User Experience Center. I like the variety of products I might impact (phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, even appliances!), the combination of looking 4-5 years ahead while still aiming to impact the product lines, and the people (as individuals, but also the variety of skills they bring: UX, design, and development). I’ll be taking a week off for a bit of R&R, and then jumping in to try something new. It should be fun!