Leah Pistorius
May 8, 2026
On April 28, 2026, faculty, students, alumni, and partners gathered at the University of Washington Club for the 2026 Human Centered Design & Engineering Research Showcase.
Designed to build community and spark conversation, the showcase brought together researchers and visitors to explore how HCDE research is shaping technology, systems, and everyday experiences.
Attendees engaged with research posters and interactive demos and spoke directly with researchers about their work. Topics ranged from AI literacy and mental health interventions to online communities, accessibility, public infrastructure, and wearable technologies, highlighting the breadth of questions and challenges HCDE researchers are engaging across the department.
The showcase reflected HCDE’s interdisciplinary approach, bringing together perspectives from engineering, design, and the social sciences. As HCDE Professor and Associate Chair for Faculty & Research Development Sean Munson noted in his opening remarks, “What unites us is a commitment to understanding how technology shapes human life — and how people, in turn, shape technology.”
The event also highlighted the partnerships that support HCDE’s research, including collaborators across industry, nonprofits, healthcare, education, and public sector organizations. Attendees were encouraged to connect with researchers and explore opportunities for future collaboration.
Professor Julie Kientz welcomes attendees to the 2026 HCDE Research Showcase
Emily Tseng is a new assistant professor in the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE)
The showcase also welcomed HCDE Assistant Professor Emily Tseng to the community, who joined the department this year. Introduced by Professor Kate Starbird, Tseng shared research from her group focused broadly digital safety. Her work examines how people navigate risk and harm in digital environments and explores how technologies can better support healthy relationships, journalism, and online communities.
“It’s been such an honor to bring my research program to HCDE,” Tseng said. “The best intellectual environment I could imagine for top-tier research on tech and society that also makes real-world impact.”
Additional lightning talks from faculty highlighted projects on water access and infrastructure in Washington State, collaborative design practices, human-centered entrepreneurship, mental health interventions, and speculative approaches to technology and making.
Watch the lightning talks from HCDE faculty on YouTube and below.
Digital Safety Research
Emily Tseng, Assistant Professor
Collectively Addressing Water Challenges Facing Washington State
Katya Cherukumilli, Assistant Professor
Stitching the Cosmos
Daniela Rosner, Professor
Collaborative Design
Charlotte Lee, Professor
Human-Centered Entrepreneurship
Beth Kolko, Professor
HCD to Improve Mental Health Interventions
Sean A. Munson, Professor
Professors Julie Kientz, Katya Cherukumilli, Daniela Rosner, Charlotte Lee, Beth Kolko, and Sean Munson
As HCDE continues to expand its research and partnerships, events like the Research Showcase create space for conversation across students, researchers, alumni, practitioners, and community collaborators.
The projects featured at the showcase represent just a portion of the work happening across the department, with new collaborations, publications, technologies, and student research continuing throughout the year.
View the full event program, including posters and authors, here.