Updates on recent accomplishments, publications, awards, presentations, and media coverage involving Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) faculty, PhD students, and research scientists.
Winter 2026
January 9, 2026
Tyler Fox received supplemental research funding in the amount of $120,000 from Microsoft Customer Experience & Success. This research explores design based competencies in relation to ambiguity and AI.
Emily Tseng, Matthew Bilik, and Amy Zhang received a grant of $25,000 from the Center for an Informed Public (CIP) Innovation Fund for “Building an AI Cooperative With and For Journalists.”
Kyra Arnett, with co-authors Madou Tapsoba, Wamdaogo Moussa Guelbeogo, Antoine Sanou, Soumanaba Zongo, Christelle Gogue, Siaka Debe, Kelly Davis, Jenny Shannon, Peder Digre, Julia Mwesigwa, Kenzie Tynuv, Christen Fornadel, Sagnon N’Falé, Molly Robertson, Joseph D. Challenger, Gauthier Tougri, Adama Gansané, Hilary Ranson, Gnankiné Olivier and Joseph Wagman, had an article, Differential effects of dual and synergist-based insecticide-treated bed nets on pyrethroid resistance and L995F/S knockdown resistance mutation dynamics in Anopheles gambiae s.l. populations in south-western Burkina Faso, published in Parasites & Vectors.
Ruiqi Chen, with co-authors Qingyang He, Hanxi Bao, Jung Choi, and Xin Tong, had an article, GestoBrush: Facilitating Graffiti Artists’ Digital Creation Experiences through Embodied AR Interactions, published in the Proceedings of the 18th International Symposium on Visual Information Communication and Interaction (VINCI '25).
Soobin Cho, Anna Lindner, Joseph Schafer, Pitch Sinlapanuntakul, Julie Vera, and Mark Zachry had a poster, Collaborative Autoethnography as a Method to Explore Short-Lived Social AI Chatbots, published in the Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (HAI '25).
Shana Hirsch, with co-authors, Yin Cheong Aden Ip, Elizabeth Andruszkiewicz Allan, and Ryan P Kelly, had a article, Fast, Flexible, Feasible: A Transparent Framework for Evaluating eDNA Workflow Trade-offs in Resource-Limited Settings, published in Molecular Ecology Resources.
Ayumi Oishi with co-authors Annuska Zolyomi, LouAnne Boyd, Mizuko (Mimi) Ito, had an article, Exploring HCI Neurodiversity Research in Japan: Lessons Learned in Cross-Cultural Relationship Building and Community-Based Research, published in ACM Interactions.
Kate Starbird, with co-authors Danielle Lee Tomson, Mert Can Bayar, Michael Grass, and Emma Spiro, published Being Sensemakers: A Framework for University-Based Rapid Research of Elections, Crisis Events, and Beyond, a report detailing the 2024 Election Rumor Research Project.
Brett Halperin was interviewed on national television, NewsNation Live, on December 10, 2025, about the future of Hollywood and recent backlash to the creator behind “AI actress” Tilly Norwood.
Nina Lutz was quoted in the Time article, How Christian Leaders Are Challenging the AI Boom.
Kate Starbird was quoted in the NPR article, Pro-Trump influencers take a victory lap amid fallout from viral video alleging fraud.