Expert Profile
Bill Tomlinson

Professor of Informatics
Bill Tomlinson studies artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction and computer-supported learning.
Areas of Expertise
- Computer Games & Virtual Worlds
- Environmental Informatics
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Computer-Supported Learning
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Biography
Bill Tomlinson is a Professor of Informatics and Education at the University of California, Irvine, and a researcher in the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology. He studies the fields of artificial intelligence, ICT for sustainability, human-computer interaction, and computer-supported learning. His book Greening through IT (MIT Press, 2010) examines the ways in which information technology can help people think and act on the broad scales of time, space, and complexity necessary for us to address the world's current environmental issues. In addition, he has authored more than 100 publications across a range of journals, conferences, and other venues in computing, the learning sciences, sustainability, design, and the law. His work has been reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the LA Times, Wired.com, Scientific American Frontiers, CNN, and the BBC. In 2007, he received an NSF CAREER award, and in 2008 he was selected as a Sloan Research Fellow. From 2014-2017, he served on the EPA's Board of Scientific Counselors, Sustainable and Healthy Communities subcommittee. He holds an A.B. in Biology from Harvard College, an M.F.A. in Experimental Animation from CalArts, and S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Media Arts & Sciences from MIT.
Media






Media Appearances
A free California? Trump visits as initiative to leave U.S. cleared to gather signatures
USA Today, 1/24/2025
UC Irvine researcher authors ‘scientists' warning' on climate and technology
UCI News, 2/14/2024
How much energy does AI use compared to humans? Surprising study ignites controversy
VentureBeat, 9/22/2023
Using Snowflake to Access and Combine Multiple Datasets Hosted by the Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative
AWS Partner Network (APN) Blog, 4/7/2022
People are building technology that could survive the apocalypse
Fast Company, 11/8/2019
Event Appearances
Nobody Expects the Data Inquisition - Our Chief Weapon is AI’s!
2025 | Southern California International Law Journal Symposium
Law for a Finite Planet
2025 | Southern California International Law Journal Symposium
AI for Academic Research
2024 | SubTech unconference on law and AI, Northwestern Law School
ZotGraph: Engaging Students with Complex Topics through Knowledge Graphs
2024 | AAAS-NSF IUSE Summit (Washington, DC)
Developing student systems thinking and increasing engagement using ZotGraph
2024 | Earth Educators' Rendezvous (Philadelphia, PA)
Articles
Disparities in the impact of drought on agriculture across countries
Scientific Reports
University students describe how they adopt AI for writing and research in a general education course
Scientific Reports
The Law and AI as "Apex Collaborator": Legal Frameworks for Optimized Cooperation
FIU Law Review
Agents in a Tangled Bank: An Ecosystem Approach to AI Regulation
FIU Law Review
Organic Websites: Certification of AI-Generated or Human-Written Content on the Internet
Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ph.D., Media Arts and Sciences, 2002
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
S.M., Media Arts and Sciences, 1999
California Institute of the Arts
M.F.A., Experimental Animation, 1996
Harvard College
A.B., General Studies, Biology Concentration, 1994
Accomplishments
- UC Online Award
- UCI CORCL Award
- UCI ICS Research Award
- UCI Instructional Technology Innovation Award
- Celebration of Teaching School Honoree Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, UCI
Research Grants
AI-Enhanced Personalization for Large-Scale University Education 2024-2027 in Sustainability Science
NSF RITEL Award, 2024-2027
Probabilistic Knowledge Graph and Automated Ontology Generation
Accenture LLP, 2023-2024
Probabilistic Knowledge Graph
Accenture LLP, 2022-2023
Improving General Education Sustainability Science: A Pilot Study in 2021-2024 Engaging Students with Complex Topics through Knowledge Graphs
NSF IUSE Award, 2021-2024
The Pathway to Academic Success
US Department of Education, 2014-2018