nsf / stuttgart / unhires

Introducing the 2015 UNH IRES team

We are pleased to introduce the six students who will participate in the 2015 UNH IRES program. The program is funded by the National Science Foundation, Office of International and Integrative Activities. We are grateful for the support.

This year we received 32 exceptionally strong applications. After careful deliberation, we selected the six students listed below to participate in the program. This summer they will conduct research at the HCILab at the University of Stuttgart under the supervision of Albrecht Schmidt. Congratulations to all six! We are looking forward to a productive and fun summer.

Chun-Cheng Chang is 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 is 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 is 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.

Chihiro Jimbo is currently finishing up her Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Michigan School of Information. She specializes in user experience research and design and would like to apply the knowledge to the automotive domain, especially in ubiquitous computing pertaining to drivers’ cognitive load and developing interfaces that would moderate smooth information transition between the system and driver in intelligent vehicle systems. You can view Chihiro’s work and connect with her at http://www.jimbochihiro.co.

Morgyne Weaver is 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 is 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.