Joseph Valacich

Dr. Joe Valacich is a distinguished scholar, tech entrepreneur, and educational innovator specializing in human-computer interaction (HCI). He has published over 100 academic journal articles, including 37 in nine different Financial Times Top 50 (FT-50) journals, with a Google Scholar citation count exceeding 35,000 and an h-index of 82. His patented technologies analyze fine-grained HCI data to infer user intent, confidence, bias, and emotional state. In 2014, Valacich co-founded Neuro-ID, a company providing real-time behavioral analytics to combat online fraud, boost conversion rates, and enhance customer experiences. Neuro-ID secured $50 million in investments before its acquisition by Experian in 2024. An award-winning educator, Valacich has co-authored leading computing textbooks and played key roles in developing online education programs at Washington State University and the University of Arizona. He has served on AIS and ACM curriculum and accreditation boards, co-chaired the 2003 ICIS and 2012 AMCIS conferences, and was Honorary Chair for ICIS 2021. Valacich’s accolades include Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (2020), AIS Fellow (2009), AIS Impact Award (2021), AIS Leo Award (2022), and University of Montana Distinguished Alumnus (2012). Tech Launch Arizona named Neuro-ID the I-Squared Startup of the Year (2020) and Valacich the I-Squared Inventor of the Year for Information Technology (2016). In 2024, he received the University of Arizona’s Distinguished Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award.

Courses

• MIS 585 Strategic Management of Information Systems

Publications

• Kim, D., Valacich, J.S., Jenkins, J.L., Wilson, D., & Kumar, M. (in press). Are you, you? Seamlessly Fighting Identity Fraud with Keystroke Dynamics. Information Systems Research.
• Wilson, D., Valacich, J.S, & Jenkins, J.L. (2024). Behaviorally Measuring Ease-of-Use by Analyzing Users’ Mouse Movement Efficiency. MIS Quarterly; 48(3), 979-1008. DOI: 10.25300/MISQ/2023/17900
• Weinmann, M., Valacich, J.S., Schneider, C., Jenkins, J.J., & Hibbeln, M. (2022). The Path of the Righteous: Using Trace Data to Understand Fraud Decisions in Real Time. MIS Quarterly, 46(4), 2317-2336. DOI: 10.25300/MISQ/2022/17038.
• Jenkins, J.L., Valacich, J.S., Zimbelman, A., & Zimbelman, M. (2021). Detecting Noncompliant Behavior in Organizations: How Responses and Behaviors Reveal the Risk. Journal of Management Information Systems. DOI: 10.1080/07421222.2021.1962600.
• Wood, D., Pickard, M., Schuetzler, R., & Valacich, J.S. (2020). Next-Generation Accounting Interviewing: A Comparison of Human and Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs) as Interviewers. The Accounting Review, 95(6), 339-366. DOI: 10.2308/tar-2017-0235.
• Benjamin, V., Valacich, J.S., & Chen, H. (2019). DICE-E: A Framework for Conducting Darknet Identification, Collection, Evaluation, with Ethics. MIS Quarterly, 43(1), 1-22. DOI: 10.25300/MISQ/2019/13808.
• Jenkins, J.L., Proudfoot, J.G., Valacich, J.S., Grimes, G.M., & Nunamaker, Jr., J.F. (2019). Sleight of hand: Identifying malicious insider threats through the monitoring of mouse-cursor movements. Journal for the Association for Information Systems; 20(1), Article 3. DOI: 10.17705/1jais.00527.
• Valacich, J.S., Wang, X., & Jessup, L.M. (2018). Did I Buy the Wrong Gadget? How Easy and Difficult to Evaluate Technology Features Influence Product Choice. MIS Quarterly, 42:2, 633-644. DOI: 10.25300/MISQ/2018/12847.
• Hibbeln, M., Jenkins, J., Schneider, C., Valacich. J.S., & Weinmann, M. (2017). How is Your User Feeling? Inferring Emotion Through Human-Computer Interaction Devices. MIS Quarterly, 41, 1-21. DOI: 10.25300/MISQ/2017/41.1.01.
• Chatterjee, S., Valacich, J.S., & Sarker, Suprateek (2015). The Behavioral Roots of Information Systems Security: Exploring Key Factors Related to Unethical IT Use. Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 31(4), 49-87. DOI: 10.1080/0721222.2014.1001257.
• George, J.F., Carlson, J., & Valacich, J.S. (2013). Media Selection as a Strategic Component of Deceptive Communication. MIS Quarterly, 37(4), 1233-1251.
• Campbell, D.E., Wells, J.D., & Valacich, J.S. (2013). Breaking the Ice in B2C Relationships: Understanding Initial Perceptions of Websites with the eCommerce Attraction Model. Information Systems Research, 24(2), 219-238.

Issued Patents

• PCT US14/43057—Identifying Deceptive Answers to Online Questions through human-computer interaction data. Issued. Expires: 2034-12-26.
• US 61/934,005—Fraudulent Application Detection System and Method of Use, Issued. Expires: 2035-03-22.

Professional Associations

• The National Academy of Inventors (NAI)
• The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
• Association for Information Systems (AIS) (founding member)

Honors and Awards

• 2024, University Distinguished Innovation & Entrepreneurship Award, University of Arizona.
• 2022, AIS Leo Award, Association for Information Systems, awarded at ICIS 2022.
• 2022 (Sept 2022), University of Arizona AI Lab Researcher Rankings. Ranked as the 15^th most productive researcher (using Google Scholar H-index) in the MIS discipline. https://eller.arizona.edu/departments-research/centers-labs/artificial-….
• 2021, Association for Information Systems (AIS), AIS Impact Award for Research Beyond Academia – Neuro-ID Behavioral Analytics.
• 2020, Tech Launch Arizona (University of Arizona), I-Squared (Innovation and Impact) Award, 2020 Startup of the Year – Neuro-ID, Inc.
• 2020, JAIS 2019 Best Paper Award: “Sleight of hand: identifying concealed information by monitoring mouse-cursor movements”. Journal for the Association for Information Systems.
• 2020, Lendit Fintech Industry Awards. Fintech Innovator of the Year Finalist (Neuro-ID). September 22.
• 2020, National Academy of Inventors, Elected to the rank of Senior Member.
• 2018, CIONET European Research Paper of the Year. CIONET.
• 2016, Inventor of the Year, Innovation and Impact Award for Information Technology, University of Arizona, Tech Launch Arizona.
• 2013, Best Business Developed Serious Game; and Best Adaptive Force Award (selected by the Office of the Secretary of Defense). Serious Games Showcase & Challenge (SGS&C) at the Interservice / Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC).
• 2013, Distinguished Educator in Information Systems, Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP).
• 2012, Distinguished Alumni Award, The University of Montana Alumni Association.
• 2009, Outstanding Alumnus Award, School of Business Administration, University of Montana.
• 2009, AIS Fellow, Association for Information Systems, awarded at ICIS 2009.