Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by UW Human Centered Design & Engineering

Sean Munson @smunson.com · 6d

@hcde.uw.edu is launching our new human-centered AI graduate certificate in January, with applications open now and a priority deadline of 24 October. Learn more at www.hcde.washington.edu/hcai

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

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UW Human Centered Design & Engineering @hcde.uw.edu · 6d

New from HCDE: Announcing our new Graduate Certificate in Human Centered AI.
Learn to build AI systems that are ethical, equitable, and human-first.
Courses are in the evenings, in-person, from January through September.
Priority application deadline: October 24, 2025.
www.hcde.washington.edu/hcai

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

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UW Human Centered Design & Engineering @hcde.uw.edu · 7d

How do video games shape who we are?
HCDE & @ischool.uw.edu researchers found that 78% of gamers reported life-changing experiences from play—from coping with stress to building identity.
Findings will be presented at @chiplay.bsky.social later this month.

www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

Q&A: How video games can lead people to more meaningful lives

UW researchers discuss their study which surveyed 166 gamers about how video games sparked meaningful changes in their lives.

www.washington.edu

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Dr. Julie Kientz @juliekientz.bsky.social · 28d

At @hcde.uw.edu, we will be hiring an Assistant or Associate Teaching Professor this coming year! Timing wise, we are hiring for a Sept. 2026 start date, but could be sooner.

We are looking forward to welcoming a new colleague!

Learn more and apply at apply.interfolio.com/171881

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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UW Human Centered Design & Engineering @hcde.uw.edu · Sep 2

Professor Julie Kientz has been reappointed as Chair of HCDE for a second five-year term, recognized for guiding the department’s growth and fostering a supportive, inclusive community.
www.hcde.washington.edu/news/article...

Julie Kientz reappointed as Chair of HCDE

Professor Julie Kientz has been reappointed to a second five-year term as Chair of the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering, following a comprehensive review recognizing her inclusive and...

www.hcde.washington.edu

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · Aug 27

Hi Seattle! Come see my talk on the history of human-computer interaction. I'll explain U.S. gov funding of science has led to many of the innovations that power our economy & shape our lives — and call out the short-sightedness & hypocrisy of efforts to defund science in this field & so many others

sufsseattle.bsky.social @sufsseattle.bsky.social · Aug 27

Seattle! We're joining the Summer of Science with our first teach-in. Join us at Obec brewing and meet Dr. @katestarbird.bsky.social
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Seattle! We're joining the Summer of Science with our first teach-in. Join us @obecbrewing to meet @katestarbird.bsky.social

Dr. Starbird will be speaking about the evolution of human-computer interaction, and why public investment in research and diverse voices in computing and informatics are more essential than ever, especially at a time when those investments are under threat.

And you won’t just leave inspired — Seattle’s Stand Up for Science team will be on hand with easy, actionable ways to contact your representatives and stand up for science. See you there!

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UW Human Centered Design & Engineering @hcde.uw.edu · Aug 28

HCDE has an outstanding opportunity for an Assistant / Associate Teaching Professor to join our faculty! We seek applicants with expertise in areas like engineering design, interactive programming, ML/AI, AR/VR, data science, fabrication, and more, with a focus on project-based, inclusive teaching.

Employment Opportunities

Current openings in the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) at the University of Washington in Seattle.

www.hcde.washington.edu

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Kevin Feng @kjfeng.me · Aug 1

📢 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.

🧵👇

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.

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Joey Schafer @schafer.bsky.social · Aug 2

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

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

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Caroline, doing the work @carolinethegeek.bsky.social · Jul 24

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

The Seattle Times @seattletimes.com · Jul 24

Children often see AI as "magical," but a game developed by UW researchers is hoping to highlight its pitfalls.

It's kids vs. AI in game created by UW researchers. Guess who wins?

Children often see AI as "magical," but a game developed by UW researchers is hoping to highlight its pitfalls.

www.seattletimes.com

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UW Human Centered Design & Engineering @hcde.uw.edu · Jul 21

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.

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...

www.hcde.washington.edu

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UW Human Centered Design & Engineering @hcde.uw.edu · Jul 11

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...

Layoffs, lost faith, and 'cruel optimism' in tech

Microsoft’s latest round of layoffs leaves even more tech workers in Washington without a job – and with a new worldview. What does it mean for an industry that was once seen as the last bastion of t...

www.kuow.org

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NE Seattle and Shoreline Tool Libraries @seattlereconomy.bsky.social · Jul 10

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 🔨🫶

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.

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · Jul 8

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...

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · Jul 3

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...

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

academic.oup.com

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · Jun 30

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...

Melinda's Dissertation: Truth-Seeking as Collaborative Work

In moments of uncertainty, journalists help the public make sense. This research shows how that work depends on expert networks and systems that too often fail when they need to move fast and what it ...

www.melm.cc

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · Jul 1

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-...

How Strategic Litigation Feeds On and Fuels Political Narrative

Fringe election fraud rumors are becoming legal drama—weaponized lawsuits and policies that present fiction as fact on social media. 

www.lawfaremedia.org

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UW Human Centered Design & Engineering @hcde.uw.edu · Jul 1

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...

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....

www.washington.edu

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UW Human Centered Design & Engineering @hcde.uw.edu · Jun 27

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.

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...

www.hcde.washington.edu

UW Human Centered Design & Engineering @hcde.uw.edu · Jun 24

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:

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 ...

www.hcde.washington.edu

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UW Human Centered Design & Engineering @hcde.uw.edu · Jun 13

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...

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...

www.hcde.washington.edu

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UW Human Centered Design & Engineering @hcde.uw.edu · Jun 10

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.

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...

www.hcde.washington.edu

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Nisha Devasia @nishadevasia.bsky.social · Jun 4

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🧵)

arxiv.org

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · May 28

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!

Center for an Informed Public @cip.uw.edu · May 28

Do you work in journalism, education, technology, librarianship, government, community organizing or law? We're currently accepting applications for the 2025-26 cohort for our @cip.uw.edu Community Fellowship program. The application deadline is June 20.

www.cip.uw.edu/2025/05/27/c...

CIP accepting applications for Community Fellowship 2025-26 cohort

The University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public is accepting applications for the CIP Community Fellowship program’s 2025-26 cohort through June 20.

www.cip.uw.edu

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UW Human Centered Design & Engineering @hcde.uw.edu · May 30

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.

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...

www.hcde.washington.edu

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