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Human-Centered Computing

Our work in human-centered computing explores and enhances the ways in which people and communities engage with and experience technology. 

Our research considers the personal, educational, cultural, and ethical implications of innovation. Drawing upon techniques from human-computer interaction, learning sciences, sensing and more, we aim to maximize the potential benefits of technology while minimizing potential harms to individuals, groups and society.


Groups & Labs

Street scene overlaid with color-coded object recognition labels for depicted car, bicycle, vegetation, utility pole, and manhole cover

Makeability Lab

The Makeability Lab specializes in Human-Computer Interaction and applied machine learning for high-impact problems in accessibility, computational urban science, and augmented reality.

A person with long blond hair, with only mouth and chin visible, is lying on a blue quilted blanket on short green grass in dappled sunlight. The person is wearing a black sweatshirt and propped up on their elbows, viewing a smartphone held in their well-manicured hands.

Behavioral Data Science Group

The Behavioral Data Science Group leverages large-scale behavioral data to extract actionable insights about our lives, health and happiness by combining techniques from data science, social network analysis, and natural language processing.


Allen School Faculty

Associate Professor

Professor

Associate Professor


Centers & Initiatives

Change is a cross-campus collaboration that explores the challenges of developing technology in the context of positive social change. It seeks to make connections between researchers, outside organizations, and the public to inspire the development of new capabilities aligned with the interests of those most in need.

DFab is a network of researchers, educators, industry partners, and community members advancing the field of digital fabrication at UW and in the greater Seattle region.

Highlights


Allen School News

Multiple Allen School authors received Best Paper Awards or honorable mentions for their work on interactive systems that enable more flexible human-AI agent collaboration, an AI-based tool that helps screen-reader users make sense of geovisualizations, and more.

UW News

The web app, which was developed by researchers in the Allen School’s Makeability Lab, enables users in Seattle to map their ride based on factors such as bike lanes, speed limits, pavement quality, and more.

American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Professor Magda Balazinska was honored for her influential contributions in data management and data science, while Professor Shwetak Patel was recognized for his groundbreaking work applying computing to health and sustainability.