edu/hcil) has followed the arc of human-computer interaction from its inception to its current influential role in computing. At a time when emergent personal computers and office technologies were broadening the base of who used computers, it seemed essential to address design issues, the transformation of jobs, and effects on society. The first CHI conference in Gaithersburg, Maryland had just been held the previous year. The opportunity for positive influence was large, but developing the community while doing the work of reshaping technologies to accommodate human skills and needs was a substantial challenge. Like all research groups, the HCIL has had its share of publications, prototypes, commercialization successes, and alumni who have gone on to inspire others. Our record is strong (see Key Contributions section), but perhaps equally interesting, our approach has had a distinctive flavor with a remarkable level of consistency over the decades. We are devoted to working on socially relevant problems driven by the needs of external stakeholders. We address their needs by developing freshly designed technologies, conducting rigorous evaluations, and proposing broadly applicable theories. Our approach also consistently combines research and communication. We have long felt a responsibility for communicating our research results to our colleagues and the broader community of practitioners and students. From 1988 to 1997, HCIL offered an annual television broadcast series for professional education. And we have produced two of the most widely used HCI textbooks for academic teaching and industrial training. Deeply woven into our identity is the importance of running the annual HCIL Symposium, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in May 2013 (described in more detail in Catherine Plaisant’s essay). While our products are visible, we feel that HCIL’s enduring legacy is the teamwork that inspires excellence through interdisciplinary collaborations. Over these decades, some things have remained constant, such as our continued design and development of prototypes, while other things have changed. For example, our analytical style has shifted from an early focus on controlled, quantitative experiments to a growing use of qualitative analysis to our current inclusion of case studies, grounded theory, and more. In addition, with time we have become substantially more reflective and collaborative about our design processes. HCIL members are also devoted to helping each other achieve high-quality results as well as celebrating the success of individuals. Each semester is a chance to do better by taking on new topics, serving government and industry, connecting with academic colleagues, and striving to make a better world. There is always room for improvement, but we’re proud of our first 30 years. This series of short essays describes the creation of the HCIL and how successive directors shaped the lab with their visions tied to contemporary challenges. 30 Years at the University of Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL)