My name is Raz Schwartz and I’m a Ph.D. student in the Science, Technology and Society (STS) program at Bar-Ilan University, Israel and a visiting scholar at Carnegie Mellon University. I am currently working on my dissertation project studying location-based technology and its effect of local social interactions.

My first serious encounter with the net was in 1999, when I was assigned to a 3 day HTML course as part of my military service. It took me less than a few hours to be mesmerized by the possibilities and power this simple language holds – a feeling I carry until this day. After finishing my service in the Israeli army, I began my undergraduate studies at Tel Aviv University where I earned my B.A. in Economics and Communication.

After completing my B.A. degree, I continued my studies in the M.A. program in Law at Bar-Ilan University, where I concentrated on studying intelectual property issues in virtual communities. Shortly after graduating, I decided to pursue a Ph.D. in the field of Science, Technology and Society.

During the years I also initiated several projects outside of the academic sphere. One of these projects was an international non-profit organization that promoted public art exhibitions of media art works created by young artists from all around the world. This project was an amazing journey during which I got to know more than 100 artists from 23 different countries and established connections with curators, art collectors and commercial companies as well as organize unique public art exhibitions in several cities around the world.

Being a visiting scholar at Carnegie Mellon is a great privilege. I am very grateful to be working with the amazing people here and advance my studies in such a supportive and productive environment.

You can contact me here: raz@razschwartz.net or here: @razsch.