By Julie Vera, HCDE PhD student
This year, I had the opportunity to travel to Yokohama, Japan to attend the CHI 2025 conference. This travel was sponsored by the HCDE PhD Student Conference Travel Support Program.
My experience began the weekend before the official conference with the News Futures Workshop. Since my dissertation investigates “weatherfluencers” and their role in severe weather communication, this workshop was a natural fit. I was able to develop a paper for this workshop that finally put some long-brewing ideas on paper. These ideas later informed my CSCW 2026 submission. While I didn’t get as much time as I had hoped to discuss my specific work, the broader group discussions were engaging and informative. We explored AI’s role in newsrooms and how AI agents might shape future news delivery. I also reconnected with researchers I’d met last year who work in this space and had originally told me about the workshop.
At the main conference, I caught up with people I’d met at previous CHI and CSCW events. This year felt different because with my dissertation proposal on the horizon, I came with a clearer agenda. I split my time between strategic coffee chats about potential collaborations and conversations with people at companies and labs I’m curious about as I start thinking about my next steps after I’m done with the program.
I also attended several paper talks that caught my interest. One that particularly stood out was in my own session on “Dark Patterns.” The study looked at whether people with ADHD were better at spotting dark patterns in apps compared to neurotypical users. I found the research question provocative and genuinely intriguing. I also attended “Wording Matters: The Effect of Linguistic Characteristics and Political Ideology on Resharing of Covid-19 Vaccine Tweets,” which turned out to be highly relevant to my current work on language, sensemaking, and how different ways of writing can influence people’s thoughts, responses, and sharing behaviors.
Presenting my paper was genuinely fun and marked my first full paper talk at CHI. I was caught off guard by the response afterward and ended up in hour-long conversation with people interested in the work. The experience has me thinking more seriously about creating opportunities to share my research and and has led to some promising connections.
Overall, CHI 2025 was an unforgettable and inspiring experience. Sincere thanks to those who sponsored the funding to make this trip possible. I look forward to carrying these learnings forward into my career and giving back to the global HCI community.
Give to support HCDE student travel
The Mary B. Coney Endowed Fund, named in honor of Emeritus Professor Mary Coney, supports HCDE students by funding costs associated with travel to conferences and international workshops. Your support of this fund enriches the HCDE student experience and enhances HCDE's influence in the field.