Alumni

The HCI in Ubicomp IRES program is a 3-year program, funded by the NSF for 2017-2019. To date, this program has supported 12 students. The program builds on the experiences of the UNH IRES program, which was funded by the NSF 2014-2016, and supported 18 students between 2014 and 2016.

Below are the alumni of the two IRES programs who conducted research in Germany.

2018

Gabrielle LaBorwit participated in the IRES program as a rising Junior at Bucknell University majoring in Computer Science and Cognitive Psychology. She is most interested in the intersection of the two and the ethical ramifications that come along with our world’s ever-improving technology. Post-college, Gabrielle aspires to get her PhD in HCI and further delve into the subject of ethical computing and technology. In her free time, she enjoys photography, exploring, and baking.

Theophile Nkengfack participated in the IRES program as a senior Electrical Engineer at the University of New Hampshire with a newly discovered passion for Human Computer Interactions (HCI). He spent his senior year working with Pupil Labs and Ergoneers D-Labs eye tracker technology trying to understand human behavior when determining legitimate/fraudulent email content. He hopes to pursue a masters/PhD degree with HCI as a focus. During his free time, you can find him playing a sport or trying to learn a new language.

Stepheny Perez participated in the IRES program as a master’s student in Computer Science at New Mexico State University, where she also earned her B.S. in Computer Science. She will be doing her research with Dr. Son Tran on neural networks. She is most interested in artificial intelligence and computer vision, particularly within the domain of self-driving cars.

Denisa Qori participated in the IRES program as a PhD candidate in Computer Science, currently working in the Advanced Interactions Research Lab at Drexel University. Denisa’s research focuses on developing efficient human-centric systems that accurately adapt their behavior based on an individual’s brain sensor data as an implicit input. Such systems can be used to improve human quality of life, for example, by helping an individual feel less stressed, be more focused on a task, learn more easily, or be more creative. Primarily, Denisa has relied on data obtained using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) brain-computer interface(BCI). fNIRS is a safe, portable, non-invasive brain imaging technique that uses light to infer hemodynamic changes in the brain. To deepen the quantitative analysis of fNIRS time series data, Denisa has been exploring several deep learning techniques. Deep learning has been successfully applied to many computer science applications, but in a limited way to fNIRS or other physiological signal data.

Diana Tosca participated in the IRES program as a senior from Miami, FL studying Computer Science and Music at Wellesley College. Diana is interested in the intersection between technology and music.
She plays the violin and does nail art in her free time.

 

Bella Virgilio participated in the IRES program as a junior at Wellesley College majoring in Media Arts and Sciences. She is interested in interface design, human-computer interaction, and mixed reality. She is excited about the practical applications of emerging technology and is looking forward to learning about how user interfaces can be optimized for accessibility.

2017

Lauren Futami participated in the IRES program as a junior majoring in Media Arts and Sciences at Wellesley College. She is interested in human computer interaction, product design, and video production. She is also excited to participate in research to discover how large displays and augmented reality can combine to engage people in new learning techniques.

Dana Hsiao participated in the IRES program as a senior at Wellesley College majoring in Computer Science. She is excited about the potential that Augmented and Virtual Reality have in both video games and practical pursuits. She is also interested in the processes and methods of computer security.

Maleah Maxie participated in the IRES program as a junior at Wellesley College. She is majoring in Cognitive & Linguistic Sciences and Music. Next year, she will be studying the effectiveness of digital technology in the classroom. She is interested in the safety implications of user interface design in autonomous vehicles and other technology critical to our society’s infrastructure.

Calvin Liang participated in the IRES program as a master’s student in Human Factors at Tufts University where he also earned his B.S. in Engineering Psychology. He currently conducts Brain-Computer Interaction research under Professor Rob Jacob. Calvin is most interested in using technology as a way to optimize the human experience and hopes to pursue a PhD in HCI in the future. In his free time, he enjoys swimming, reading, and listening to podcasts.

Michelle Quin participated in the IRES program as a sophomore at Wellesley College double majoring in Media Arts & Sciences and English. She is currently focusing on HCI and Front-End Web Development, and will be studying Computer Science with an emphasis on Machine Learning at the University of Oxford her junior year. Michelle hopes to go into HCI graduate studies in the future and is interested in working to make user interfaces more intuitive as well as reflective of today’s diverse society.

Midori Yang participated in the IRES program as a sophomore at Wellesley College majoring in Media Arts and Sciences. She currently works at the college’s HCI lab designing applications for large touchscreen surfaces, but wants to branch out into interactive design for mixed/virtual reality. She is interested in designing interfaces that can be used to facilitate digital design experiences for non-technological artists.

2016

Whitney Fahnbulleh participated in the IRES program as a junior at Wellesley College majoring Media Arts and Sciences and minoring in Chinese. Whitney is spending her junior year studying data analytics and visualization, human computer interaction, and is self-studying game design. She is most excited in the possibilities of virtual and augmented reality for creating immersive environments for gaming and knowledge delivery. She looks forward to graduate studies in HCI and game design.

Taylor Gotfrid participated in the IRES program as a senior double majoring in Computer Engineering and Cognitive Science at University of California, Santa Cruz. She is greatly interested in user experience research and making technology more accessible for those with developmental disabilities. She currently conducts research in the Interactive Systems for Individuals with Special Needs lab under Professor Sri Kurniawan developing games for individuals with developmental disabilities that will assess their understanding of basic concepts such as object relations and their problem-solving abilities. After she graduate she intends to pursue a Ph.D in HCI or Interaction Design.

Aditi Joshi participated in the IRES program as a senior at Olin College majoring in Engineering Design. She is especially interested in human centered design and connecting actual products and features to the people on the other end of the screen. She thinks that it is important to think of design as a constant process, starting from user research and talking to real people, co-designing with them and getting feedback, and actual implementation of these ideas. In her professional life she hopes to create products that make a social impact in the world, using engineering to help empower, educate, and assist the extremely different types of people in today’s world.

Dillon Montag participated in the IRES program as a senior mathematics and computer science double major at Westmont College. Previously, Dillon has conducted research in the fields of network science and big data, where he analyzed student performance within the UCLA mathematics department. He is interested in the intersection of computer science with the other social sciences and is excited to be transitioning into the industry.

Elizabeth Stowell participated in the IRES program as a PhD student in Personal Health Informatics at Northeastern University in Boston. She earned her B.A. in Health and Society at Wellesley College. She currently works in the Wellness Technology Lab that conducts that creates and evaluates wellness technologies to address health inequities. Elizabeth is interested in using technology to empower people to make informed decisions about their own health, and in using technology to facilitate health activism.

Donovan Toure participated in the IRES program as a recent graduate of New York University where he earned a Master of Science in Integrated Digital Media. His focus was on on Virtual and Augmented Reality, Game Design as well as Human Factors Engineering. He is interested in how Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies can be utilized in mission planning, training, and as psychological countermeasures in long-term space missions for humans living off world.

Natalie Warren participated in the IRES program as a junior Cognitive Science major at Yale University. As a member of the Yale Social Robotics Lab, she enjoys exploring technology’s role in improving cognitive functioning and social interaction. Natalie is interested in studying the effects of digital media on attention and performance, especially in children.

Anna Wong participated in the IRES program as a sophomore studying at Carnegie Mellon University. She is a Statistics and Machine Learning major. Anna entered the HCI field as a research assistant in CMU’s Human Computer Interaction Institute, where she has worked with data collected from wearable technology. Currently she is fascinated by big data and biometric data. She is most interested in developing tools that will allow users to interact with their personal data in a direct and accessible way.

2015

Chun-Cheng Chang participated in the IRES program as a PhD student in Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle. He currently works in the Human Factors Statistical Modeling Lab under the supervision of Dr. Linda Ng Boyle where he conducts studies evaluating the distraction properties of voice control interfaces. He is interested in how cognitive workload measurements can be used as a guide for better automotive user interfaces.

Jennifer Cooper participated in the IRES program as a student pursuing a Master of Science in human factors/ergonomics from the University of Minnesota. She earned her B.A. in psychology from St. Catherine University in 2012, where she discovered a passion for research. She is currently working in a human factors lab at the U of M that conducts a range of research studies on in-vehicle warning systems, at-risk driving populations, and human-centered safety designs. Her research interests are human-computer interaction, technology-mediated learning, and transportation safety.

Chloe Eghtebas participated in the IRES program as a senior Electrical and Computer Engineering student at Olin College of Engineering interested in making a positive impact on the world. Chloe is passionate about cybersecurity, design, entrepreneurship, and electrical and computer engineering. As someone who values higher education and technological innovation, her plan is to continue to increase technical expertise through academia and industry.

Scott W. Greenwald participated in the IRES program as a 5th year Phd student with Pattie Maes at the MIT Media Lab. He is interested in facilitating learning through wearable technologies, remote collaboration and context-aware information retrieval. His work makes use of eye gaze and pupillometry to enhance the ability of systems and remote collaborators to respond to wearers’ cognitive and emotional states. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and German from Northwestern University, a master’s in Scientific Computing from the Free University of Berlin, and a master’s in Media Arts and Sciences from the Center for Bits and Atoms at MIT.

Morgyne Weaver participated in the IRES program as a senior at Wellesley College graduating in May 2015. She is a Media Arts and Sciences major and an English minor. Currently she is interested in making tangible interfaces much more intuitive for users, while also decreasing cognitive load. She is drawn to the challenge of creating an interface that many people from different backgrounds will not only be able to easily use, but that they will like to use.

Vicky Zeamer participated in the IRES program as a Media Arts and Sciences & American Studies major from Wellesley College. Vicky is spending her senior year researching how millennials interact with global cities through the MIT Mobile Experience Lab. She gets most excited about user experience research, media ecology, and interface design. She looks forward to getting a PhD in HCI/Interaction Design in the near future.

2014

Drea K. Fekety participated in the IRES program as a PhD candidate in the Human Factors Psychology program at Clemson University, South Carolina. Drea’s research experience and professional interests lie in the fields of experimental psychology, visual perception, and transportation safety, with an emphasis on experimental design and statistical analysis. He is currently focused on solving the human factors challenges faced while driving at night. During his time in the IRES program, Drea helped design and execute a research project investigating the task-evoked pupillary response (TEPR) in mesopic lighting conditions. Find Drea on LinkedIn at http://linkd.in/10rGeT3.

Michael Nguyen participated in the IRES program as a student finishing up his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering at Montana State University. His research interests include just about anything that user’s have to interface with, such as a website he is currently working on for a United Nations Subcommittee that aims to provide fleet managers with resources. In Germany, his team was tasked to develop a model associated with pupil dilation and cognitive workload under various environmental conditions. His duties included creating, designing, and conducting a study as well as applying various physiological sensors such as the Nexus 10, SMI eye tracker, and the Emotiv EPOC.

Rudra Timsina participated in the IRES program as a graduate student at University of New Hampshire. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from UNH in May 2014. He participated in the UNH IRES program as researchers during summer 2014 in Stuttgart, Germany. The research was to evaluate mental workload under various lighting conditions. In this study Rudra used an eye tracker, a brain computer interface and biofeedback systems to measure various physiological outputs. Rudra’s current research interests are in electronic communications and electromagnetic. Currently he is working with phased array antennas and mercury switches to study beam forming and beam steering in various antenna structures.

Micah Lucas participated in the IRES program as a graduate student at University of New Hampshire. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from UNH in May 2014. He participated in the UNH IRES program as researchers during summer 2014 in Stuttgart, Germany. He explored changes in pupil diameter under different levels of lighting and cognitive load.