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Quick Questions Drop-In Advising: Current HCDE BS Students
Quick questions drop-in advising with our HCDE BS adviser.
Note: These drop-in advising sessions are intended for quick questions and for current HCDE BS students only. Current HCDE BS students seeking a more in-depth advising conversation or prospective HCDE BS students should instead book an advising appointment.
Event interval: Single day event. Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/98076420726. Campus room: Virtual; login with UWNetID required. Accessibility Contact: Meghan Oxley, what@uw.edu. Event Types: Academics. Target Audience: Current HCDE undergraduates only.
Thursday, May 28, 2026, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
Zoom.
Dissertation Defense: Sourojit Ghosh (G), "Exploring Harmful Outcomes of Generative AI Systems upon Historically Marginalized Populations often Overlooked in Fairness Research"
Members of the HCDE & DUB communities are invited to attend a dissertation defense by PhD Candidate Sourojit Ghosh (G). Exploring Harmful Outcomes of Generative AI Systems upon Historically Marginalized Populations often Overlooked in Fairness Research, PhD Candidate: Sourojit Ghosh (G)
Abstract:
As I write this, the year is 2026, and the world finds itself firmly in the midst of a Generative AI (GAI) summer -- a period of abundant investment, research, and interest around the development of Artificial Intelligence tools. Since the public release of OpenAI's ChatGPT, GAI tools have seen widespread adoption across the public and private sectors. Capable of generating artificial text or images based on user input, such tools have also been known to replicate societal power dynamics and hierarchies. This has prompted the surge of research determined to understand the depth of this problem, with a particular focus on historically marginalized populations. However, such research has taken a fairly narrow view of…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Sieg Building (SIG). Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/96380036954. Campus room: Sieg 329. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Monday, June 1, 2026, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Dissertation Proposal: Joey Schafer, "Influencing the Influencers: Understanding the Impacts of Influencer Interactions on Modern Social Media Platforms"
The HCDE and DUB communities are invited to attend a dissertation proposal defense by PhD candidate Joey Schafer.
Influencing the Influencers: Understanding the Impacts of Influencer Interactions on Modern Social Media Platforms, Proposal Abstract:As people increasingly get their news not from newspapers or broadcast media but online social platforms (including X, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky, and Instagram, among many others), the role that "influencers," or popular, trusted community members in these platforms who use their position to effectively communicate to and with their audiences, is increasingly important. My dissertation focuses on the question of "who influences the influencers?" with an aim to understand the participatory, mutually-shaping feedback loops of which influencers are a part. Through a series of three studies employing a mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis of social media trace data as well as semi-structured interviews, I explore these broader networks, documenting and…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Allen Library (ALB). Online Meeting Link: http://washington.zoom.us/my/schaferj. Campus room: Allen Auditorium. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM.
Dissertation Defense: Andrea Figueroa, "Designing Visual Decision Support Systems to Foster Trust and Support Expertise Diversity through Human-Centered Data Science"
Members of the HCDE & DUB communities are invited to attend a dissertation defense by PhD Candidate Andrea Figueroa. Designing Visual Decision Support Systems to Foster Trust and Support Expertise Diversity through Human-Centered Data Science, PhD Candidate: Andrea Figueroa
Abstract:
Decision support systems (DSSs) increasingly shape how people interpret complex data and make consequential decisions. Although these systems are often evaluated through technical performance, usability, or efficiency, their effectiveness also depends on whether users can make sense of system outputs, judge their reliability, and engage with tools in ways that reflect their knowledge, roles, and goals. In visual DSSs, design choices about how data is shown directly shape how users interpret system outputs and decide what to do with them.
This dissertation examines how visual DSSs can be designed and evaluated to foster trust and support expertise diversity. Grounded in Human-Centered Data Science and Munzner's nested model of…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Sieg Building (SIG). Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/94676894754. Campus room: Sieg 433. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
HCDE Course Showcase: Interaction Design & Prototyping (HCDE 536)
Join the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering for our end-of-quarter course showcases and view projects by current students. Light refreshments will be provided.
Find additional Spring 2026 Course Showcases on the HCDE calendar. Course Showcase: Interaction Design & Prototyping (HCDE 536), Instructor: Paula Te
Five teams of HCDE students will showcase site-specific interactive experiences that blend physical and digital interaction.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: PACCAR Hall (PCAR). Campus room: PCAR 295. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Exhibits. Special Events. Target Audience: HCDE community, prospective students, and friends of the department.
Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM.
HCDE Capstone Showcase
Join the University of Washington's Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering for our 2026 Capstone Showcase.
Explore 50+ capstone projects from graduating HCDE students. Projects span AI, healthcare, accessibility, transportation, entertainment, sustainability, and more — developed in collaboration with organizations including Amazon, Microsoft, Google Cloud, Uber, Sony, Fred Hutch, Sound Transit, and community partners.
Meet student teams, experience interactive demos, and connect with the HCDE community. Open to students, alumni, industry professionals, community partners, and the public. Project themes include:Computing, Data & Digital Technologies, Health & Medicine, Infrastructure, Society & Community, Entertainment & Media Experiences, Environment, Sustainability & Energy, Air, Space & Travel
, Questions? Contact Melissa Ewing, HCDE Outreach & Strategic Partnerships Manager, at mewing3@uw.edu.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Student Union Building (HUB). Campus room: HUB Ballroom. Accessibility Contact: mewing3@uw.edu. Event Types: Exhibits. Special Events.
Wednesday, June 3, 2026, 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM.
For more info visit www.hcde.washington.edu. HCDE Course Showcase: Inclusive Design & Engineering (HCDE 315)
Join the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering for our end-of-quarter course showcases and view projects by current students. Light refreshments will be provided.
Find additional Spring 2026 Course Showcases on the HCDE calendar. Course Showcase: Inclusive Design & Engineering (HCDE 315)
Instructor: Cayla Key
Students in Inclusive Design & Engineering will present high-fidelity prototypes designed to make technology, public spaces, and everyday experiences more accessible and equitable. Projects include: A Discord add-on that detects and responds to voice chat harassment with player-controlled filters, muting, and private support notifications, A Valorant audio visualization overlay that translates in-game sounds into visual cues for deaf or hard-of-hearing players. A smoking cessation app and air quality sensor as a relapse-prevention tool that detects risky environments and offers low-pressure, shame-free support, An app that teaches English through realistic, conversation-based tasks…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Sieg Building (SIG). Campus room: Sieg 233. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Exhibits. Special Events. Target Audience: HCDE community, prospective students, and friends of the department.
Thursday, June 4, 2026, 11:00 AM – 12:20 PM.
HCDE Course Showcase: Service Design - Advanced projects in HCDE (HCDE 418)
Join the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering for our end-of-quarter course showcases and view projects by current students. Light refreshments will be provided.
Find additional Spring 2026 Course Showcases on the HCDE calendar. Course Showcase: Service Design - Advanced projects in HCDE (HCDE 418) , Instructor: Tyler Fox
Eight teams of HCDE undergrads will present proposals for services contributing to and creating social infrastructure. This is a great opportunity to see how HCDE students apply service design methods to real-world challenges.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Sieg Building (SIG). Campus room: SIG 329. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Exhibits. Special Events. Target Audience: HCDE community, prospective students, and friends of the department.
Thursday, June 4, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
HCDE Course Showcase: UX Prototyping (HCDE 351)
Join the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering for our end-of-quarter course showcases and view projects by current students. Light refreshments will be provided.
Find additional Spring 2026 Course Showcases on the HCDE calendar. Course Showcase: UX Prototyping (HCDE 351), Instructor: Katya Cherukumilli
Drawing from the UN Sustainable Development goals, student teams will present final projects aiming to use a variety of prototyping techniques to build and test different concepts. They will explain the project goals (what, why, how), show key features of the prototype in action, and discuss their design decisions and evaluation of prototype effectiveness.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Interdisciplinary Engineering Building (IEB). Campus room: IEB 205. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Exhibits. Special Events. Target Audience: HCDE community, prospective students, and friends of the department.
Thursday, June 4, 2026, 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Dissertation Proposal: Sayan Bhattacharjee, "Scales Against Skin Tone: Negotiating Technical Reform at the Intersections of Biomedicine and AI through Skin Tone Scales"
The HCDE and DUB communities are invited to attend a dissertation proposal defense by PhD candidate Sayan Bhattacharjee.
Scales Against Skin Tone: Negotiating Technical Reform at the Intersections of Biomedicine and AI through Skin Tone Scales, Proposal Abstract:
Racial bias persists across computer vision and its applications in medical AI technologies. Facial recognition technology (FRT), dermatological AI and biomedical instruments continue to underperform on darker skin tones. When researchers, activists, and communities critique these disparities, technology companies and scientific institutions attempt reform by developing novel technical fixes, often in the form of dedicated instruments. This dissertation examines how social critique of inequality gets translated into technical reform practices at the intersection of biomedicine and machine learning. I trace the trajectories of two instruments: the Fitzpatrick Skin Type scale, originally designed in 1975 for phototherapy dosing in predominantly white…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Sieg Building (SIG). Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/98646796757. Campus room: Sieg 329. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, June 5, 2026, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Quick Questions Drop-In Advising: Current HCDE BS Students
Quick questions drop-in advising with our HCDE BS adviser.
Note: These drop-in advising sessions are intended for quick questions and for current HCDE BS students only. Current HCDE BS students seeking a more in-depth advising conversation or prospective HCDE BS students should instead book an advising appointment.
Event interval: Single day event. Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/98076420726. Campus room: Virtual; login with UWNetID required. Accessibility Contact: Meghan Oxley, what@uw.edu. Event Types: Academics. Target Audience: Current HCDE undergraduates only.
Friday, June 5, 2026, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
Zoom.
HCDE Course Showcase: Design and Management of Complex Systems (HCDE 520)
Join the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering for our end-of-quarter course showcases and view projects by current students. Light refreshments will be provided.
Find additional Spring 2026 Course Showcases on the HCDE calendar. Course Showcase: Design and Management of Complex Systems (HCDE 520), Instructor: Mark Haselkorn
Three teams of HCDE students will present design investigations focused on improving shared situational awareness and coordination for transit operations at Sound Transit. Attendees will get a look at how students apply human-centered design research and systems thinking to complex, real-world transportation challenges.
Note: Showcase attendees will need to sign an NDA due to the potentially sensitive nature of the presentations.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Dempsey Hall (DEM). Campus room: Dempsey 004. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Exhibits. Special Events. Target Audience: HCDE community, prospective students, and friends of the department.
Monday, June 8, 2026, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM.
Dissertation Proposal: Jeffrey Basoah, "AI, Identity, and Voice: Toward Culturally Responsive AI Writing Technologies for AAVE-Speaking Communities"
The HCDE and DUB communities are invited to attend a dissertation proposal defense by PhD candidate Jeffrey Basoah.
AI, Identity, and Voice: Toward Culturally Responsive AI Writing Technologies for AAVE-Speaking Communities, Proposal Abstract:AI-supported writing technologies have transformed how people communicate, but this transformation has not been equitable. A growing body of work has documented significant performance disparities in large language models for speakers of non-standard language varieties, and for AAVE speakers in particular. Yet research examining how Black American users perceive and navigate these disparities in their daily lives has only just begun. We risk embedding existing social hierarchies into new technological infrastructure, reproducing and amplifying exclusion under the cover of innovation. This dissertation examines the relationship between sociolinguistic identity, user agency, and the design of AI writing technologies, with Black American users as the focal population. I…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Allen Library (ALB). Campus room: Allen Auditorium. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Tuesday, June 9, 2026, 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM.
HCDE Graduation and Awards Ceremony
Join the University of Washington Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering for the 2026 HCDE Graduation & Awards Ceremony celebrating graduating BS, MS, and PhD students.
The ceremony will include remarks from HCDE Chair Julie Kientz, a graduation address by Ram Shankar Siva Kumar, and the presentation of student awards recognizing academic excellence, leadership, innovation, and contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
View full ceremony details here ».
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Student Union Building (HUB). Campus room: Ballroom. Accessibility Contact: mewing3@uw.edu. Event Types: Ceremonies. Target Audience: HCDE graduating bachelor's, master's, and PhD students, their families and friends.
Friday, June 12, 2026, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
For more info visit hcde.uw.edu. HCDE PhD Recognition Ceremony
Recognition Ceremony honoring HCDE PhD Graduates with faculty advisors and invited guests. Closed Event.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: tbd. Accessibility Contact: Kathleen Rascon, khorenst@uw.edu. Event Types: Ceremonies.
Friday, June 12, 2026, 12:30 PM – 3:00 PM.