Michael Douma is an expert in user interface design and web-based interactive education. He helps information blossom by taking complex ideas and making them easy to understand through interactivity and tailoring. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement (IDEA), where he designs and implements information systems that use technology to facilitate and broaden the learning process. Prior to leading IDEA, he was the principal in a design firm that produced web sites for public and private sector projects. As part of his ongoing research, he recently developed methods for changing behavior in medical patients, encouraging patients to better communicate with their health care providers, and improving the postoperative compliance of dental patients.

Michael Douma has set into motion a myriad of successful projects. As co-principal investigator, and with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Douma developed the pioneering WebExhibits museum, which draws eight million visitors each year. Bringing together his technological expertise and his concern for public health, Douma designed and implemented the technology behind the ProstateCalculator, which offers men pattern-based risk predictions for prostate cancer. Current research directions include tailoring information with fuzzy logic recommendations, and techniques for hands-on learning that changes the behaviors of medical patients. As an active researcher and writer, Douma shares his ideas and experiences with the scientific and academic communities on a regular basis.