Alumni Q&A Panel
Curious about a career in human-computer interaction? Wondering what resources are available at Northwestern to support your research? Just want to get advice from real world professionals?
Join the Center for Human-Computer Interaction + Design for an enlightening discussion with alumni as they share their journey through Northwestern programs, career paths, and their hard-earned knowledge. Whether you're an undergrad or grad student, this panel offers valuable insights, networking opportunities, and real-world advice to help you chart your course for success. Don't miss this chance to connect with those who've been where you are and see where their Northwestern journey has taken them!
Moderator
Connie Chau
Connie (she/her) is a 4th year PhD student in Technology & Social Behavior whose research intersects HCI, health, and gender-based violence (GBV), and was a Design Cluster fellow in 2022-23. In partnership with The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence (a major Chicago-based nonprofit organization), she is currently working on co-designing just-in-time adaptive interventions for burnout among frontline workers who provide services to survivors of GBV. In addition to research and extensive community-engaged work, she is an Ethics Fellow in the Northwestern Tech Ethics Initiative where she collaborates with faculty and students to embed ethics into computer science curriculum and develops content on technology-facilitated abuse, trauma-informed and survivor-centered approaches, and ethics in AI, technology, and design. She is advised by Maia Jacobs in the Personalized & Adaptive Technology for Health (PATH) Lab. Website: https://www.conniewchau.me/.
Panelist
Diego Gómez-Zará
Assistant Professor at the University of Notre Dame
Professor Gómez-Zará’s research focuses on how computational systems help people organize and collaborate. His work has been at the forefront of computational social science, human-computer interaction, and network science. His recent publications include work in recommender systems, team formation, team formation, diversity, and virtual reality. This research has won best paper awards at top conferences in human-computer interaction, including CHI, CSCW, and IUI. His research was supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, DARPA, National Science Foundation, Microsoft Research, Amazon Research, and Slack Inc.
Panelist
Natalia Smirnov
Learning Experience Designer at Amazon
Natalia Smirnov is currently a Senior Learning Experience Designer at Amazon, where she designs innovative learning solutions to help employees across the company be more customer-centric. Prior to joining the corporate world, Natalia worked as an education consultant for non-profit organizations, such as Chicago Park District and Free Library of Philadelphia and helped run an alternative higher education collective, Incite Seminars. Natalia also founded an existential game lab, blending her passion for theory and play, and created experimental relational experiences for groups and private and corporate clients.
During her time at Northwestern University, Natalia completed a PhD in the Learning Sciences, served as a Design Cluster Fellow, and conducted research with Design For America.
Panelist
Craig Schultz
Assistant Professor at University of Illinois College of Engineering
Craig is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois College of Engineering and co-founder of Fluid Reality. He specializes in interactive embedded systems and haptic actuation. His work has won 6 best paper awards and nominations at premiere ACM and IEEE venues and has been featured in venues such as NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, TechCrunch, and Engadget. Before UIUC and Fluid Reality, Craig finished his post-doc at the Future Interfaces Group at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, and was the VP of Research and Development at Tanvas, where he developed novel electroadhesive touchscreens based on his work in surface haptics at Northwestern University's Center for Robotics and Biosystems. Craig also helped co-develop and teach DSGN 495-21: Designing Product Interactions at Segal during his PhD.