UW Human Centered Design & Engineering

Screenshot of a paper on a webpage, with a figure showing 5 levels of autonomy for AI agents and the tradeoff between user involvement and agent autonomy as the levels increase.

📢 New paper, published by @knightcolumbia.org

We often talk about AI agents augmenting vs. automating work, but how exactly can different configurations of human-agent interaction look like? We introduce a 5-level framework for AI agent autonomy to unpack this.

🧵👇

Beyond Information A CSCW 2025 Workshop Online on October 3 and/or in Bergen, Norway on October 18 Deadline extended to August 8th Connect with a global community of scholars working on all aspects of information disorder (mis/disinformation, scams, online hate, etc) Website (link included in post body) for more details

Does your work explore mis/disinformation, scams, hate speech, or other forms of harmful information online?

We are convening a CSCW workshop to bring together a global community focused on information disorder. We welcome 2-6 page submissions, due August 8th.

Cscw2025infodisorder.netlify.app

We got a visit from @seattletimes.com on Monday at KidsTeam. You can try Aayushi Dangol's AI Puzzlers for yourself!

@hcde.uw.edu @ischool.uw.edu @juliekientz.bsky.social @jasoncyip.bsky.social

Julie Kientz Elected to Washington State Academy of Sciences HCDE Professor and Chair Julie Kientz has been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS), recognized for her award-winning leadership in human-computer interaction and her impactful w...

Congrats to HCDE Professor & Chair Julie Kientz on being elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences! As a WSAS member, she’ll bring expertise in inclusive tech design to support evidence-based policy across WA state.

Why are laid-off tech workers experiencing "cruel optimism"?

HCDE PhD student Samuel So joined @kuow.org to share insights from his research into the psychological toll of tech industry layoffs.

🎧 Listen to the full interview here: www.kuow.org/stories/layo...

Ria, Miya, Ilena, and Camryn smile next to their presentation, "Flow that Sells: Reimagining the Reuse Store at Seattle REconomy", which includes a poster, a video, a virtual tour, and other graphics.

We had some fantastic interns, the "Handy Dandies", from @uofwa.bsky.social's @uw-hcde.bsky.social capstone program, who helped us improve our Reuse Materials Store. Their transformative efforts earned them a Leadership Award, so please help us congratulate them and celebrate their work 🔨🫶

Kids play a game on the computer

Are you smarter than #AI? @uw-hcde.bsky.social researchers have created a game that shows kids how they’re smarter than AI.

They found the kids learned to think critically about AI responses and discovered ways to nudge the systems toward better answers.

More: www.washington.edu/news/2025/07...

Connective Action and the Rise of the Far-Right: Platforms, Politics, and the Crisis of Democracy Abstract. This volume introduces a “connection action” framework for explaining democratic backsliding. We bring together a mostly political science compar

Just published: "Unraveling the Big Lie: Participatory Disinformation and the 2020 Election." Thrilled to see this work out in the world and part of such an amazing compilation. My chapter features my initial research and model on "participatory disinformation": academic.oup.com/book/60493?l...

Really excited to draw attention to this dissertation by Melinda McClure Haughey (@melm.cc‬). Melinda's research explored collaborative infrastructure for supporting the "sensemaking" work of journalists working on high-stakes, fast-paced & often data-driven beats. www.melm.cc/research/dis...

Exceited to share this Lawfare article by two star students on our elections research team. It's about how the right has used courts to spread and legitimize (false) election fraud claims as part of a broader effort to justify new restrictions to voting rights. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/how-...

This puzzle game shows kids how they’re smarter than AI University of Washington researchers developed the game AI Puzzlers to show kids an area where AI systems still typically and blatantly fail: solving certain reasoning puzzles. In the game, users get....

UW researchers Aayushi Dangol and Julie Kientz (HCDE) and Jason Yip (iSchool) created AI Puzzlers—a game to show kids where AI systems still typically and blatantly fail: solving certain reasoning puzzles.
www.washington.edu/news/2025/07...

Graduating student Camryn Soo explores the undefinable roots of HCDE Camryn Soo (HCDE BS '25) spent two years researching the department’s history, tracing its roots in post-war efforts to bring more humanities into engineering education. Through archival research, int...

Camryn Soo (BS ’25) spent two years tracing the history of HCDE through archives, interviews, and coursework. Her research highlights a long tradition of rethinking engineering and celebrating work that defies easy labels.

Foundations & Futures of HCI: a teach-in with Professor Kate Starbird As part of HCDE’s 2025 graduation events, Professor Kate Starbird delivered a special teach-in exploring the foundations and future of human-computer interaction. Starbird traced how the technologies ...

As part of HCDE’s 2025 graduation, Professor Kate Starbird hosted a teach-in on the Foundations and Futures of HCI—tracing how public research shaped the tech we use today, and why inclusive, human-centered innovation must guide what comes next.

🎥 Review takeaways or watch the recording here:

2025 Graduation & Awards Ceremony On June 11, the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering hosted its 2025 Graduation & Awards Ceremony, honoring the achievements of 220 graduates—90 bachelor’s, 127 master’s, and 3 doctoral s...

Congratulations to the HCDE Class of 2025! This week we celebrated the achievements of 220 grads in our annual Graduation & Awards Ceremony.
View highlights + a recording here: www.hcde.washington.edu/news/article...

HCDE impact: Bridging gaps to safe drinking water in Washington schools HCDE Assistant Professor Katya Cherukumilli is leading research to study and address issues with drinking water quality in Washington schools. In partnership with state agencies, her students are anal...

HCDE Prof. Katya Cherukumilli is leading research to study and address issues with drinking water quality in WA schools.

Working with state agencies, students are analyzing water testing data and identifying barriers that prevent schools from accessing and using available remediation funding.

I'll be at #DIS2025 presenting some findings from my first ever project as a PhD student (a labor of love heavily inspired by my own experiences): "Partnership through Play: Investigating How Long-Distance Couples Use Digital Games to Facilitate Intimacy" (arxiv.org/pdf/2505.09509) (details in🧵)

Our team at the UW Center for an Informed Public is recruiting for our next class of Community Fellows (for the 2025-2026 school year). Learn more about the program, apply, and/or pass our call along to folks you think might be a good fit for our next cohort!

HCDE impact: Improving mental healthcare for all Americans with UW’s ALACRITY Center The ALACRITY Center, co-directed by HCDE Professor Sean Munson, is expanding access to quality mental health care by redesigning behavioral interventions to be more effective and accessible to all Ame...

HCDE Professor Sean Munson co-directs UW's ALACRITY Center, where researchers across campus are redesigning mental health care to be more accessible and effective in everyday settings like clinics and schools.

Their work is powered by federal funding—without it, progress is at risk.

UW Engineering has launched two new stackable master’s degrees—and HCDE’s Certificate in User Centered Design is one of the building blocks.

Our certificate can now count toward:

+ MS in AI & ML for Engineering
+ Master of Engineering in Multidisciplinary Engineering

Learn more or apply:

HCDE impact: Advancing renewable marine energy to strengthen coastal communities Renewable marine energy—power generated from ocean waves and tides—could play a big role in boosting coastal economies and reducing US dependence on fossil fuels. HCDE Assistant Research Professor Sha...

Offshore wind and marine energy can boost energy security and economic revitalization along our coastlines.
HCDE’s Shana Hirsch leads research that centers community voices in the development of this emerging industry, but recent cuts to federal funding put this community-driven research at risk.

What NSF funding cuts could mean for misinformation research at UW and across the country The National Science Foundation has terminated grants for research around misinformation. We'll hear from a misinformation researcher to learn about the wider implications.

In a recent interview with @opb.org, HCDE Professor Kate Starbird discusses how sweeping cuts to federal research funding are impacting universities and scientific research efforts across the US.
Listen here:

HCDE impact: Improving mental healthcare for all Americans with UW’s ALACRITY Center The ALACRITY Center, co-directed by HCDE Professor Sean Munson, is expanding access to quality mental health care by redesigning behavioral interventions to be more effective and accessible to all Ame...

A nice writeup, from the perspective of @uw-hcde.bsky.social, on the impact of our National Institute of Mental Health-funded research in the UW ALACRITY Center.

HCDE Impact Featured Research HCDE Outreach Students Alumni Support HCDE

From clean water to clean energy, mental health to AI literacy, HCDE researchers are applying human-centered design to some of today's most pressing challenges. Explore how federal research funding advances knowledge and sparks innovation that serves communities both locally and nationally.

Q&A: UW researcher discusses the “cruel optimism” of tech industry layoffs In 2023, University of Washington researchers recruited a group of 29 laid-off U.S. tech workers to discuss the effects of recent mass layoffs on employees. Overall, the group was ambivalent about...

Yesterday, Microsoft announced it will cut nearly 2,000 jobs in WA. UW News spoke with Samuel So, @uw-hcde.bsky.social, about shifting views of the tech industry, workplace organizing and why workers find themselves in a state of “cruel optimism” with the industry.

"They've Over-Emphasized That One Search": Controlling Unwanted Content on TikTok's For You Page Modern algorithmic recommendation systems seek to engage users through behavioral content-interest matching. While many platforms recommend content based on engagement metrics, others like TikTok deli...

I'm at #CHI2025 this week presenting my paper with Sourojit Ghosh on controlling unwanted content on TikTok's FYP: arxiv.org/abs/2504.13895. This paper was ~3 years in the making and I'm excited it finally found the (right) home!

YouTube video by UW (University of Washington) A Spotlight on Rumors

Thanks for letting us know - link has been updated: youtu.be/rjiGbgRAhJo?...

HCDE researchers are contributing 33 papers to #CHI2025, including 1 Best Paper & 5 Honorable Mentions. 🎉

In addition, Kate Starbird will join the SIGCHI Academy, and Cecilia Aragon and Nadya Peek will receive Special Recognition for their contributions.

www.hcde.washington.edu/news/article...

James Fogarty at a podium, introducing DUB as part of launching DUB Research Day 2025.

Excited to kick off DUB Research Day 2025!

dub.washington.edu/seminars/202...

A great local event ahead of UW's participation in CHI 2025!

dub.washington.edu/posts/2025/c...

Graduate Certificate in User Centered Design Upcoming Information Sessions for Fall AdmissionApplication opens May 1, 2025

Ready to advance your career in UX research & design? HCDE’s Graduate Certificate in User Centered Design is a five-course, evening program for professionals ready to deepen their skills. Join us for an upcoming info session—applications due July 2025.
Details: www.hcde.washington.edu/ucd

For those of you on the edge of #wxsky: I'm a PhD student studying human-computer interaction <> weather. I'm recruiting for a study on weather presentation formats and what you find trustworthy/credible. Doing 1hr interviews + survey. Pays $17! Screener: uwashington.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...