News

Mon, 06/15/2026

View photos, videos, award recipients, and highlights from the 2026 Human Centered Design & Engineering Graduation & Awards Ceremony, held June 12 at the University of Washington.

Mon, 06/15/2026

Ram Shankar Siva Kumar, founder of Microsoft's AI Red Team and author of Not With a Bug, delivered the 2026 graduation address for the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering. View the full text of the address here.

Fri, 06/05/2026

HCDE has named writer, creative strategist, and entrepreneur Aleenah Ansari (BS '19) the recipient of the 2026 Outstanding Alumni Award in recognition of her work elevating voices and building community through storytelling.

Fri, 05/29/2026

HCDE undergraduate student Maya Gillaspy and PhD student Leslie D. D. Coney have been selected as 2026 Bonderman Fellows, a prestigious University of Washington program that supports eight months of independent international travel and cultural exploration.

Thu, 05/28/2026

From teaching middle school students in northeastern Washington to coordinating Engineering Discovery Days activities at UW, Human Centered Design & Engineering student Taylor Bradshaw is helping inspire the next generation of engineers through outreach and mentorship.

Tue, 05/26/2026

HCDE invites the community to a week of student showcases (June 2–8) featuring interactive demos, prototypes, presentations, and capstone projects from across HCDE courses.

Mon, 05/25/2026

HCDE senior Athena Ortega has received the 2026 Dean's Medal for Leadership & Engagement, one of the University of Washington College of Engineering's highest student honors, recognizing her leadership, mentorship, and commitment to human-centered healthcare research.

Wed, 05/13/2026

Dr. Laura Forlano delivered HCDE's 2026 Distinguished Lecture, Designing Consequences: On Living Well with Machines. Drawing on her own “disabled cyborg” life and nearly two decades of research spanning design, critical disability studies, critical computing, and critical pedagogy, Forlano explored the social consequences of technology design and posed a broader provocation about who gets to decide what it means to be human — and who we will become as a species.

Fri, 05/08/2026

The 2026 HCDE Research Showcase brought together researchers, students, alumni, and community partners for an evening of lightning talks, research posters, and interactive demos highlighting ongoing work across the department.

Tue, 04/21/2026

HCDE undergraduate Zahra Jamal Hassan has been named to the 2026 Husky 100, a UW recognition honoring students who demonstrate leadership, service, and meaningful impact. Hassan’s work centers on expanding access to engineering and supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion through community-centered outreach.