Department Directory

Before joining Cornell, she gained experience as a front-end engineer and user experience designer at Foxconn and ASUS, primarily focusing on AI products such as the Smart Shoes, Zenbo robot, AI Speaker. Additionally, she conducted research working at Psychology and Design and Innovation department in National Taiwan University. She holds a master's degree in Communication from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, where she was mentored by Chen-Chao Tao.

Areas of Interest: Human-AI interaction, HCI, Cognitive Psychology

Deepak Varuvel Dennison is a Ph.D. student in Information Science advised by Aditya Vashistha and Rene Kizilcec. He is interested in building technological solutions for global development in areas such as education, workforce development, and governance. Before starting his Ph.D., Deepak worked as a research assistant at Stanford University and has extensive experience working on several social impact projects in India. 

Areas of Interest: Building technological solutions for global development in areas such as education, workforce development, and governance.
 

Thalia Viranda works with Tanzeem Choudhury and her team in the People-Aware Computing Lab to develop novel mobile sensing and interventional technologies to augment the assessments and current evidence-based treatments for various psychiatric disorders.

Areas of Interest: HCI, Mobile Sensing and Intervention Technologies, Precision Behavioral Health

Shuhong is a PhD student in Information Science, advised by François Guimbretière. She aims to facilitate sustainable fabrication, create novel interactions, and democratize the fabrication process for individuals of all skill levels. 

 

For more information about her work, visit https://www.shuhong-hci.com
 

Tony is a PhD student in Information Science working at the intersection of natural language processing and human-computer interaction. His work primarily focuses on language in human-human and human-AI interaction and socially-aware language technologies with applications in domains such as mental health and online communities. His work experience includes User Experience Research at Google and Games Marketing & Production at PlayStation. Prior to Cornell, he has studied at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, and UC San Diego.

Areas of Interest: Computational Social Science, Natural Language Processing, Human-Computer Interaction

Sterling Williams-Ceci is a PhD Student in Information Science focusing on the intersection of human-computer interaction and social psychology. She researches how cognitive biases impact people's perceptions of trustworthiness in modern and unfamiliar information-seeking contexts. Prior to the PhD, Sterling graduated as a Merrill Presidential Scholar from Cornell University with a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in the Robert S. Harrison College Scholar Program for interdisciplinary research.

Talia Wise is a PhD student focusing on human-centered AI and augmented cognition. She studies how interactions with information systems affect higher-level cognition, and how a deeper understanding of these processes can inform the study and design of new systems to assist in cognitive tasks such as creative ideation or writing. Prior to joining Cornell, she did her undergraduate work in Computer Science and Liberal Arts at McGill University in Montreal followed by an MSc from the Technion in Haifa where she researched human-machine co-creativity.

Areas of Interest: Human-Computer Interaction, Creativity support, Augmented Cognition, Human-centered AI, Natural Language Processing

Xinyu Yang is an Information Science PhD student at Cornell University. Her research interest lies in Science of Science, Computational Social Science and AI for the common good. She is also broadly interested in exploring applied cutting-edge machine learning and data science methods. Currently, she focuses on conducting large-scale data analyses using advanced computational and machine-learning techniques. Prior to joining Cornell, Xinyu got her bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Technology from Zhejiang University, China.

Olzhas Yessenbayev is a Ph.D. student in Information Science at Cornell University. His research passion lies at the intersection of cognitive sciences and HCI, with an emphasis on leveraging cognitive and biological affordances to elevate health technology design. In terms of sensing, he is dedicated to understanding the capacity of passively sensed markers to accurately model and predict our cognitive states. In terms of behavior change, he explores ways to modulate these cognitive states by engaging with semi-voluntary physiological mechanisms seamlessly, through creation of subtle interfaces. For instance, he has incorporated feedback into video-watching experiences to subtly guide eating rates, and used peripheral vision as an avenue of sensory input processed almost automatically by another such interface. These methods aim to craft interventions that seamlessly integrate with users' natural behaviors, fostering effective yet unobtrusive behavior modifications. He is currently under the guidance of Professor Rajalkshmi Nandakumar at Cornell.

Areas of Interest: HCI, Mobile Sensing, Health, Cognitive Sciences, Affective Computing
 

Marina is a Ph.D. student in Information Science with a minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies at Cornell University. She is currently advised by Chris Csíkszentmihályi and a part of the Redistributive Computing Systems group. Presently, her research interests focus on technological interventions for socio-environmental justice and critical data/information studies across Haudenosaunee Territory. Prior to Cornell, she received her undergraduate degree in Data Science at the University of Houston-Downtown and conducted research at Berkeley National Lab and the Santa Fe Institute. Personal website.