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UW Human Centered Design & Engineering
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UW HCDE: We build possibility.
We advance systems and technologies for people and communities to create accessible, sustainable, and prosperous futures. Offering undergraduate, master's, and PhD programs in Human Centered Design & Engineering.
hcde.uw.edu
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Looking for fresh UX perspectives this winter?
Join us Thursdays at @uofwa.bsky.social for free, public UX talks — new speakers, new ideas each week.
www.hcde.washington.edu/ux
UX Speaker Series
Each winter, the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering welcomes designers, researchers, and technology leaders to campus for a 10-week UX Speaker Series. Join us on Thursday afternoons to ...
www.hcde.washington.edu
Change is constant. How do you adapt?
Join Expedia researchers Rajiv Pennathur & Yuan Zhuang at HCDE’s UX Speaker Series to explore navigating AI, career shifts, and life transitions with a human-centered lens.

Feb 19 • 4:30 pm • Sieg 134 • Open to the public
www.hcde.washington.edu/ux/pennathur...
UX Speaker Series
Rajiv Pennathur, UX Researcher, Expedia, & Yuan Zhuang, Senior Manager, User Research, Expedia | Feb. 19, 2026
www.hcde.washington.edu
February 13, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Join the HCDE UX Speaker Series Feb 12!
Alumna Nicole Washington (BS ’20), Product Designer II at Xbox, shares candid advice on navigating early careers, from building confidence, growing your skills, collaborating across teams, and finding your voice at work.
www.hcde.washington.edu/ux/2026/wash...
Nicole Washington
Nicole Washington | Product Designer II, Xbox | February 12, 2026
www.hcde.washington.edu
February 10, 2026 at 10:36 PM
Join the HCDE UX Speaker Series this week with HCDE alumna Julie Zhuying (MS ’17), Staff UX Manager for Gemini & Enterprise Security at Google, on UX leadership and designing human-centered AI systems.

Thursday, Feb 5 • 4:30-5:20 p.m. • Sieg 134, UW campus

www.hcde.washington.edu/ux/2025/zhuy...
Julie Zhuying
Julie Zhuying | Staff UX Manager, Gemini & Enterprise Security, Google Workspace Platform | February 5, 2026
www.hcde.washington.edu
February 3, 2026 at 11:05 PM
🌟 Now accepting nominations for the HCDE Outstanding Alumni Award! 🌟

This award celebrates HCDE alumni (BS, MS, PhD) whose work shows exceptional professional achievement, leadership, innovation, and community impact.

Nominations open through April 1, 2026. www.hcde.washington.edu/alumni/award
Outstanding Alumni Award
The Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) Outstanding Alumni Award celebrates alumni whose achievements demonstrate the mission and values of our department. This award recognizes alumni who have...
www.hcde.washington.edu
January 29, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Join HCDE this Thursday, Jan. 29 for our UX Speaker Series with Brad Jacobson (HCDE MS ’14), Head of Data, Engineering & VoteShield at Protect Democracy, for a talk about using HCDE principles to design for public good. www.hcde.washington.edu/ux/2026/jaco...
Brad Jacobson
Brad Jacobson | Head of Data, Engineering, and VoteShield at Protect Democracy | January 29, 2026
www.hcde.washington.edu
January 27, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by UW Human Centered Design & Engineering
Congratulations @katestarbird.bsky.social! Super well-deserved.
January 22, 2026 at 3:42 AM
HCDE Professor Kate Starbird has been named an ACM Fellow, one of the highest honors in computing. She's recognized for contributions to understanding and improving information ecosystems, including during crisis events and addressing misinformation. www.hcde.washington.edu/news/article...
Professor Kate Starbird named ACM Fellow for advancing research on misinformation and information ecosystems
HCDE Professor Kate Starbird has been named an ACM Fellow, one of the highest honors in computing, for her groundbreaking research on misinformation and online information ecosystems. The honor recogn...
www.hcde.washington.edu
January 21, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Join us on campus for the next HCDE UX Speaker Series talk this Thursday, Jan. 22 🎤
We’re excited to welcome Sena Janky, UX Manager at Fluke Corporation, for the talk “Designing Influence: UX Advocacy Across an Organization.”
Free and open to the public.
www.hcde.washington.edu/ux/2026/janky
Sena Janky: Jan. 22
Sena Janky, UX Manager, Fluke Corporation | January 22, 2026
www.hcde.washington.edu
January 20, 2026 at 11:39 PM
Reposted by UW Human Centered Design & Engineering
I've been doing a soft launch of my new Substack, Sensemaking Distortion, a blog about how our ability to make sense of the world around us is being profoundly distorted by digital and social media. I just published the Welcome post this morning. open.substack.com/pub/katestar...
Welcome to Sensemaking Distortion
A blog about how our ability make sense of everything is profoundly distorted by digital and social media.
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Looking for fresh usability insights? Partner with a team of UW Human Centered Design & Engineering master’s students this winter.

Students plan and run usability testing on your product or service, delivering new perspectives and actionable recommendations.

www.hcde.washington.edu/cap/propose-...
Propose a Usability Studies Project
HCDE welcomes usability study proposals from industry and academic partners. In HCDE's usability studies course, students engage in product and user research, formulate an appropriate usability study,...
www.hcde.washington.edu
January 7, 2026 at 10:33 PM
How might wearable technology be more accessible to all? HCDE students explored the question at wearABLE Futures, a fast-paced design jam with mentors from Ipsos, Oura, Meta, Ralytics, and Microsoft’s Inclusive Tech Lab. www.hcde.washington.edu/news/article...
Students explore wearable technology in design jam for accessibility
In Autumn quarter, HCDE welcomed students for wearABLE Futures, a fast-paced design jam focused on the question: How might we make wearable technology more accessible to all humans? Industry mentors f...
www.hcde.washington.edu
January 7, 2026 at 6:47 PM
The HCDE UX Speaker Series kicks off this Thursday! Join us on campus at 4:30 p.m. as we welcome Liz Juhnke, UX Principal Designer at The Home Depot, for the first talk of the winter quarter. www.hcde.washington.edu/ux/2026/juhnke
Liz Juhnke
.speaker-photo { width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1 / 1; object-fit: cover; border-radius: 50%; } Liz JuhnkeUX Principal Designer, Home Depot
www.hcde.washington.edu
January 6, 2026 at 11:43 PM
Curious what UX leaders are thinking about right now? Join us for free, public talks every Thursday this winter at UW.
www.hcde.washington.edu/ux
UX Speaker Series
Each winter, the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering welcomes designers, researchers, and technology leaders to campus for a 10-week UX Speaker Series. Join us on Thursday afternoons to ...
www.hcde.washington.edu
December 30, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by UW Human Centered Design & Engineering
In case you missed this earlier this week, our team put out a report documenting our approach to "rapid research" during elections, crises, & other breaking news events. It demonstrates a role for university researchers — relying on contextual and methodological expertise — to act as "sensemakers".
Since 2020, our team has iterated on a model for “rapid research” to help surface, analyze, & resolve rumors about election administration. This work demonstrates an innovative role for researchers to support public sensemaking during rapidly unfolding events.

uw.pressbooks.pub/rapidresearc...
Being Sensemakers: A Framework for University-Based Rapid Research of Elections, Crisis Events, and Beyond – Simple Book Publishing
A framework for university-based rapid research of elections, crisis events, and beyond
uw.pressbooks.pub
December 19, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Looking for fresh UX perspectives this winter?
Join us Thursdays at @uofwa.bsky.social for free, public UX talks — new speakers, new ideas each week.
www.hcde.washington.edu/ux
UX Speaker Series
Each winter, the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering welcomes designers, researchers, and technology leaders to campus for a 10-week UX Speaker Series. Join us on Thursday afternoons to ...
www.hcde.washington.edu
December 17, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by UW Human Centered Design & Engineering
Since 2020, our team has iterated on a model for “rapid research” to help surface, analyze, & resolve rumors about election administration. This work demonstrates an innovative role for researchers to support public sensemaking during rapidly unfolding events.

uw.pressbooks.pub/rapidresearc...
Being Sensemakers: A Framework for University-Based Rapid Research of Elections, Crisis Events, and Beyond – Simple Book Publishing
A framework for university-based rapid research of elections, crisis events, and beyond
uw.pressbooks.pub
December 16, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Be part of the first cohort shaping the future of human-centered AI! HCDE’s new Certificate in Human Centered AI starts in January.

Learn to lead AI initiatives, integrate AI into products and services, ensure responsible AI development, and build strategic frameworks for AI implementation.
Graduate Certificate in Human Centered Artificial Intelligence
Advance your expertise in responsible AI with HCDE’s newest program, starting January 2026.
www.hcde.washington.edu
December 4, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Join us for the final talk of HCDE’s 2025 Research Speaker Series!

This Thursday, Assistant Professor Sucheta Ghoshal will share insights from her work with social movements that actively resist dominant computational technology.

📅 Thursday, Dec. 4
⏰ 4:30 – 5:20 p.m.
📍 134 Sieg, UW campus
Dec. 4: Sucheta Ghoshal
2025 Research Speaker SeriesSucheta GhoshalAssistant Professor, HCDE
www.hcde.washington.edu
December 2, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Reposted by UW Human Centered Design & Engineering
The UW Center for an Informed Public is looking for postdocs (for 2026-2028) from across diverse disciplines whose research sheds light on the challenges of our modern information environment, promotes civic health, and/or helps people/communities navigate online spaces: apply.interfolio.com/177901
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Why are so few WA school districts applying for state funds to fix lead in drinking water? HCDE Prof. Katya Cherukumilli and her students are mapping risks and uncovering barriers to help ensure resources reach the communities that need them most. edge.deohs.washington.edu/blog/removin...
Removing lead from school drinking water | Interdisciplinary Center for Exposures, Diseases, Genomics and Environment
Katya Cherukumilli first became concerned about lead in drinking water in Washington schools after reading a 2019 article in the Seattle Times reporting that 97 percent of schools participating in a v...
edge.deohs.washington.edu
November 21, 2025 at 7:16 PM
HCDE master's students took second place in the IBM Challenge as part of the 2025 Student Service Design Challenge for Echo, a platform improving transparency around AI in speech-language therapy.

www.hcde.washington.edu/news/article...
HCDE students earn second place in global IBM Service Design Challenge
A team of HCDE master’s students has earned second place in the IBM Challenge as part of the 2025 Student Service Design Challenge, an international competition inviting students to design services th...
www.hcde.washington.edu
November 19, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Join us this Thursday at 4:30 for HCDE’s Research Speaker Series with Professor Cecilia Aragon: "Human-Centered AI and Data Science: Why People Must Come First."

Aragon will share why human considerations aren’t optional in AI and how human-centered approaches make technical work stronger.
Nov. 20: Cecilia Aragon
2025 Research Speaker SeriesCecilia AragonProfessor, HCDE
www.hcde.washington.edu
November 18, 2025 at 7:19 PM
HCDE PhD student Aayushi Dangol co-authored a new article in @us.theconversation.com with iSchool Professor Katie Davis, sharing findings from their research on how K-12 teachers are navigating the rapid rise of generative AI:

theconversation.com/ai-could-wor...
AI could worsen inequalities in schools – teachers are key to whether it will
Under-resourced schools are less likely to support teachers in implementing AI technology to best serve learning.
theconversation.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Reposted by UW Human Centered Design & Engineering
Last week, my Foundations of Human-Computer Interaction class covered an older paper about “social translucence” where they explain how the design of online systems shapes the norms & behaviors w/in those systems. But the framework they create can be applied more broadly, eg to our political moment.
November 5, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Join us Thursday for HCDE’s Research Speaker Series with Professor Sayamindu Dasgupta!

He will discuss "Living with Data," exploring how quantitative data shapes how we learn and make sense of the world—and how we can design learning experiences that help young people engage critically with data.
Nov. 13: Sayamindu Dasgupta
2025 Research Speaker SeriesSayamindu DasguptaAssistant Professor, HCDE
www.hcde.washington.edu
November 10, 2025 at 9:40 PM