Drawing on diverse theoretical perspectives, I am concerned with how interfaces mediate human action, perception, and social practices. Methodologically, my research combines techniques of design prototyping, qualitative methods, and critical perspectives to understand and address social issues connected to computing technology. I have applied this interdisciplinary approach to my research in the domains of digital privacy and surveillance, environmental sustainability and energy independence, and hyperconnectivity and information overload. I am particularly concerned with new and emerging technologies that mediate between digital and physical materiality such as networked, sensor-enabled, and data-driven Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Funded by the National Science Foundation, my current research addresses trust, control, and inclusivity with interactive consumer products.
Alongside my research into specific domains such as privacy and IoT, I am perennially engaged in design theory and criticism. I practice and write about design as a way of thinking and acting that extends beyond problem-solving and product development. Alongside these traditional uses of design, my research advances techniques for practicing design as a mode of academic inquiry, participatory engagement, cultural criticism, and speculative
exploration
I am an NSF CAREER awardee and have published over 50 peer-reviewed and edited articles in journals and conference proceedings spanning the fields of human-computer interaction, ubiquitous computing, and design research. My work has been awarded 4 Best Paper Awards (top 1% of submissions) and 4 Best Paper Honorable Mention Awards (top 5% of submissions) at the ACM conferences on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW), Designing Interactive Systems (DIS), and Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing (Ubicomp). My work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, the Rose Foundation, and Meta.
I hold a Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute. I also hold a Master's in Human-Computer Interaction / Design from Indiana University Bloomington and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics (CS minor) from the Illinois Institute of Technology, where I began my studies of Design at the Illinois Institute of Design. Previously I was an Assistant Professor of Design at California College of the Arts. Prior to that, I was a lecturer at the UC Berkeley Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation and a Research Scientist at the UC Berkeley CITRIS and Banatao Institute.
