HCDE Professor Kate Starbird awarded Presidential Early Career Award
HCDE Professor Kate Starbird is among a distinguished group of scientists and engineers across the country honored with a 2025 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from US President Biden. Professor Starbird is recognized for her research on the dynamics of misinformation and disinformation online.
Announcing Outstanding Alumni Award in HCDE
HCDE is launching a new Outstanding Alumni Award to celebrate alumni whose achievements demonstrate the mission and values of the HCDE department. The award is designed to recognize HCDE graduates who have made significant contributions to their professional fields, demonstrated impactful leadership, and enriched their communities through innovative work or service. Now accepting applications until May 1, 2025.
Celebrating HCDE's first-generation college students
On November 8, HCDE joins colleges and universities nationwide in celebrating National First-Generation College Celebration Day. Throughout the day we will be shining a spotlight on several members of our community who have forged their own paths to higher education. We are proud to share their stories as they continue to break barriers and shape the future.
Celebrating community, culture, and support: HCDE PhD candidate Leslie Coney draws on Black maternal health research to organize community baby shower
HCDE PhD candidate Leslie Coney is merging her research in Black maternal health with community support through Cradles & Culture, a community baby shower for Black birthing people and families in WA State. Supported by UW’s Black Opportunity Fund, the event celebrated parenthood, provided essential resources, and strengthened networks of support. By creating spaces like Cradles & Culture, Coney hopes to inspire similar initiatives that foster community support, building a future where no birthing person is at risk due to preventable disparities and where Black families are supported, informed, and empowered every step of the way.
Student Project Spotlight: The Bus Beacon
For a project in the Human Centered Design & Engineering course on User-Centered Design, a team of students explored the question: "How can information empower Metro King County bus commuters?" Their proposed solution, The Bus Beacon, aims to improve the bus commuting experience by centralizing information at the shared place all bus users must visit: the bus stop.
Ways to work with HCDE students this school year
HCDE welcomes alumni and industry professionals to collaborate with current students this upcoming school year. Whether you’re looking to give back personally, stay connected, or sponsor student projects with your organization, there’s a way for everyone to participate.
Christina Ciocca Eller and Robert Sharp named SECURE Center advisory board co-chairs
Harvard Professor Christina Ciocca Eller and Vice Admiral (ret) Bob Sharp have been appointed co-chairs of the newly established advisory board for the Safeguarding the Entire Community of the U.S. Research Ecosystem (SECURE) Center. Announced in July 2024 with a $50 million investment from the National Science Foundation, the SECURE Center, led by HCDE Professor Mark Haselkorn, aims to connect and empower the U.S. research community in addressing critical issues related to research security and integrity.
UW awarded $50M to lead U.S. research security center
Under a five-year, $50 million investment from the National Science Foundation, HCDE Professor Mark Haselkorn is leading a national consortium of research institutions to bolster national research security. The Safeguarding the Entire Community of the U.S. Research Ecosystem (SECURE) Center will empower the U.S. research community to address critical issues of research security and integrity.
UW researchers develop data visualization tool to advance child welfare
In response to the evolving needs of the child welfare system, UW researchers are advancing access to visualizations of foster care data. John Fowler (HCDE PhD '23) and Professor Mark Zachry developed VizCare, a new tool to increase the use of research in child welfare decision-making.
Expanding undergraduate opportunities: UW to establish NSF REU Site for human-centered computing research
Thanks to a new grant from the National Science Foundation, UW's Design Use Build (DUB) group, a grassroots alliance of researchers and practitioners interested in Human Computer Interaction & Design at the University of Washington, is expanding opportunities for undergraduate students to do human-centered computing research by establishing a new Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site.
Students recognize HCDE faculty with FACET Awards
HCDE faculty Katya Cherukumilli, Brock Craft, Sucheta Ghoshal, and Sean Munson are recognized with awards from the Career Center @ Engineering's Faculty Appreciation for Career Education & Training (FACET) program. This student-nominated award recognizes engineering faculty who have helped students with professional development through mentorship and career preparation.
PhD Candidate Sourojit Ghosh receives Presidential Dissertation Fellowship
HCDE PhD candidate Sourojit Ghosh has received a prestigious UW Graduate School Presidential Dissertation Fellowship for the 2024-2025 academic year. In his dissertation work, Ghosh is studying the harms created by generative AI tools, particularly towards traditionally marginalized populations. Ghosh is researching text-to-image generators and examining how human-centered approaches can influence the design of generative AI tools.
Recording: Inclusive Pedagogy Workshop with Sarah Coppola and Sourojit Ghosh
In April 2024, HCDE instructors Sarah Coppola and Sourojit Ghosh led a community workshop on adapting visually-based courses for blind and low-vision students. View a recording of the workshop here.
2024 Graduation & Awards Ceremony
The Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering held its 2024 Graduation & Awards Ceremony on the morning of Friday, June 7, in the Husky Union Building Ballroom. In 2024, HCDE awarded 79 students Bachelor of Science degrees, 125 with Master of Science degrees, and 11 with doctoral degrees.
Graduation Address to the class of 2024 by Trish Millines Dziko
Trish Millines Dziko, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Technology Access Foundation, delivered the 2024 graduation address for the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering. View the address here.
Designing for 21st century challenges: Microsoft support drives HCDE innovation in design education
In a world facing complex challenges like climate change, how can design and engineering education evolve to meet these demands? This question lies at the heart of a pioneering partnership between Microsoft and HCDE. Together, they are reimagining design education to prepare the next generation of designers to tackle the greatest challenges of our time.
Shana Hirsch, Cayla Key, and Emily Tseng join the HCDE Faculty
HCDE is pleased to announce the addition of three new faculty members: Dr. Shana Lee Hirsch, Cayla Key, and Emily Tseng. Together, their expertise enhances the department's focus in strategic areas such as environmental science and sociotechnical change, inclusive design and ethics, and equitable computing and social responsibility
HCDE Professor Kate Starbird receives UW Faculty Lecture Award
HCDE Associate Professor Kate Starbird is recognized in the 54th annual University of Washington Awards of Excellence with the University Faculty Lecture Award. As part of this honor, Professor Starbird will deliver a campus-wide lecture about her research in the 2024-2025 academic year.
HCDE design jam explores the future of AI-powered design work
In an HCDE Design Jam led by PhD student Pitch Sinlapanuntakul and Professor Mark Zachry, students and mentors from Adobe explored AI-powered tools to support design work.
Virtual reality environment for teens may offer an accessible, affordable way to reduce stress
Working with teens, UW researchers, including HCDE's Elin Björling and Jennifer Sonney from UW Nursing, have designed RESeT: a snowy virtual world with six activities intended to improve mood. In a 3-week study of 44 Seattle-area teens, researchers found that most used the technology about twice a week without being prompted and reported lower stress levels after using the environment.
HCDE at CHI 2024
UW HCDE has strong presence at the 2024 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), the premier international conference on Human-Computer Interaction. HCDE researchers contributed to 20 papers, including one selected for the Best Paper Award recognition and two selected for Best Paper Honorable Mention recognition.
HCDE students Sourojit Ghosh & Austin Lee named to Husky 100
Human Centered Design & Engineering students Sourojit Ghosh and Austin Lee are named to the 2024 cohort of the Husky 100. This program annually recognizes 100 students across the UW's three campuses for making the most of their time at UW through their work and extracurricular achievements.
HCDE students explore new interactions between humans and robots
Robots are increasingly becoming a part of our daily lives at home, at work, and even in public spaces. But do people want to interact with them? Are they addressing real human needs? In a new course on Human-Robot Interaction, Dr. Elin Björling led HCDE graduate students to discover new use cases for social robots that can address modern challenges.
HCDE Professor Kate Starbird appears on 60 Minutes
HCDE Associate Professor Kate Starbird appeared in a segment of 60 minutes that aired on March 24, 2024, about the right of free speech on social media platforms—an issue currently under discussion by the US Supreme Court.
Nadya Peek receives NSF Early Career Award to support open-source digital/physical toolkit research
HCDE Assistant Professor Nadya Peek has received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program Award from the National Science Foundation. The five-year, over $700,000 grant will support Peek and students in her lab, Machine Agency, in revolutionizing how we approach small-scale automation across the digital/physical divide.