spring 2018 hci independent study opps v2 · spring 2018 7 (1) your grade or level and degree...

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DATAVISUALIZATIONContact:ChinmayKulkarni<chinmayk@andrew.cmu.edu>Buildingtacitexpertiseforstem-cellculturing.ThisisajointprojectwithRebeccaTaylorinbioengineering.Weareusingourpast3-4yearsofresearchonassessmentandtrainingtocreateatoolthathelpspeoplelearntacitaspectsofexpertiseincellculture--whentoreplatecells,howtotellifcellswillbehealthyetc.Potentialimpact:betterproceduresforgrowingartificialorgans,personalizedgene-therapyetc.Wewillneedtheindependentstudenttobestrongindevelopmentofwebapplications(Rails,node.jspreferred).Designskillsareaplus,butnotreallykeytothisproject.Iftheyhaveanybackgroundinmedicine,bioengineering,etc,that'saplustoo.Alsoavailableasapaidhourlyposition.Positionidealforstudentswhowanttowritearesearchpaper.DESIGN-BASEDLEARNINGRESEARCH,CITIZENSCIENCE,INFORMALSCIENCEEDUCATIONContact:MartiLouw<martil@cmu.eduTheLearningMediaDesignCenterisleadinganinterdisciplinaryteamofentomologists,educators,softwareengineers,designers,andlearningscientiststoimproveidentificationpracticesandtrainingsupportsincitizen-sciencebasedwaterqualitybiomonitoringprojects.UndergraduateresearchassistantsonthisNSF-fundedproject,LearningtoSee,SeeingtoLearnwillparticipateinqualitativeandquantitativelearningsciencedatacollectionandanalysis,includingformativeevaluationandusabilitystudies.Theresearchmayrequiretranscriptionofaudio-recordeddata,analysisoftranscriptsandscreencastdata,andsynthesisoffindingstoinformiterativedesign-basedresearchtosupportthedevelopmentofanonlineteachingcollectionandguidetofreshwaterinsects(seeourIxDAaward-winningprototypeat:www.macroinvertebrates.org).ThisresearchfellowshipisaNSF-fundedResearchExperienceforUndergraduates(REU)part-timeposition(upto20hours/week)withopportunitiestocontinueoverthesummer.Wearelookingforanenthusiastic,detail-orientedcollaboratorandcriticalthinkerwithresearchexperienceinthesocialsciences,designbasedlearningresearch,HCIuserresearch;aninterestbiologyandthedetailsofscience,informalsciencelearning,andcitizenscienceisdesirable.TheHCIIfacultymentorwillbeMartiLouw,DirectoroftheLearningMediaDesign

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Center,andthestudent(s)willbeworkingcloselywithpostdoctoralresearchassociate,JessicaRoberts<jarobert@andrew.cmu.edu>.SuccessfulcandidateswillneedtoobtainstandardPennsylvaniaAct153backgroundclearancesandpassanIRBcertificationmoduletoworkwithhumansubjectsdata.InterestedstudentsshouldemailtheirresumeanddescriptionofexperiencetoMartiLouw<martil@cmu.edu>.EDUCATIONRESEARCHPeerPresents(Developer)JessicaHammer/OH!LabContact:AmyCook(amyshann@andrew.cmu.edu)PeerPresents,anexistingonlinepeerfeedbacksystem,allowsstudentstogivereal-timefeedbackonin-classpresentationsandhelpsthepresentersorganizethecommentstheyreceive.Whilethetoolworkswellenoughfromthestudentperspective,PeerPresentsisdifficultforresearcherstouse.Itistimeconsumingtoextractdatafromourstudiesanddifficulttogetappropriateaccesstostudentpresentations.Inadditiontosolvingtheseandotherexistingproblems,wewouldliketobrainstormadditionalfeaturesthatwouldmakeiteasiertorunstudieswiththistool.Forexample,havingtheabilitytoquicklyturnfeaturesonandofffordifferentpresentationswouldbettersupportA/Btesting.WeareseekingtwostudentdeveloperstodesignasolutiontotheproblemsfacingPeerPresentsresearchers(perhapsasaresearchdashboard),pilottheirdesignwiththeresearchteam,andimplementtheirdesign.PeerPresentswascreatedusingNode.JS,SQL,andHTML/CSS.Thisopportunitycanbefilledasanindependentstudyorapaidposition.EDUCATIONTECHNOLOGYContact:Prof.JackMostow(mostow@cs.cmu.edu)RoboTutorisa$1MFinalistinthe$15MGlobalLearningXPRIZEtodevelopanopen-sourceAndroidtabletappthatcanteachbasicSwahililiteracyandnumeracytochildrenwithoutrequiringadultassistance.Videoandlogdatafromchildrenbeta-testingRoboTutorinTanzaniaarehelpingustoevaluateitsreliability,usability,engagement,andeffectonlearninggains,andtoimproveitsdesignandimplementationaccordingly.XPRIZE’sown15-monthcontrolledstudystartsinmid-December2017andwillsendusdataloggedbyRoboTutorfromhundredsofchildrenindozensof

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villages.WewillhavetwoopportunitiestoupdateRoboTutorbasedonthesesourcesofdata.Ifinterestedinhelpingforcredit,pleaseperusewww.robotutor.organdthensendProf.MostowtheinformationlistedonourJointheTeampage.Studentrequirements:

• Knowledgeofanyrelevantareas,suchasdesign,psychology,education,intelligenttutors,programming,HCI,linguistics,naturallanguageprocessing,educationaldatamining,Swahili,...

• ExperiencewithAndroidappprogramming,educationalgamedevelopment,Javaprogramming,JSON,GitHub,usertesting,crowdsourcing,children,oranythingelseconceivablyrelevant

GAMES/DIGITALSTORYTELLINGAvatar-basedStorytellingandAnalysisofPersonalNarrativesContact:GeoffKaufman(gfk@cs.cmu.edu)Wearestudyingthedesignanduseofcollaborativecharactercreationandstorytellingplatformstorelaypersonalexperiences.Inthisprojectwearelookingatquestionsofhowpeoplecreativenarrativespacesandcraftstoriescollaborativelyand,intheprocess,disclosepersonaloremotionallyintimateinformation,andmeasuringtheimpacttheseexperienceshaveonbothstorytellersandaudiencesalike.Wearelookingforstudentstobeinvolvedwiththedesignanddevelopmentoftheseplatformsandwithrunningexperimentsandanalyzingdata(includingthecodingofpersonalnarrativesandanalysisofquantitativedatafromlaboratoryandfieldexperiments).GAMERESEARCHAudienceParticipationGames(ResearchAssistant)JessicaHammer/OH!LabContact:SethGlickman(glickmas@gmail.com)WearestudyinghowstreamersandviewersmightusestreamcustomizationtoolsonTwitch.Wearelookingforaresearchassistanttohelpusconductworkshops,interviews,andotherqualitativeresearchstudies.Ifdesired,youwillbeabletoparticipateinresearchdesignandUIsketching.YoushouldbefluentinspokenEnglish;experienceconductinginterviewsisaplus.

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GAMERESEARCHAudienceParticipationGames(PlaytestCoordinator)JessicaHammer/OH!LabContact:SethGlickman(glickmas@gmail.com)WehavedevelopedaninterfaceandframeworkforlivestreamedaudienceparticipationgamesontheTwitchplatform,andareinthegameusertestingstage.Comehelpusorganize,facilitateanddocumenttheseplaytestswhilelearningeffectiveplaytestdesignGAMERESEARCHRosenstrasse(ResearchAssistant)JessicaHammer/OH!LabContact:JessicaHammer(hammerj@andrew.cmu.edu)Workingwithanexternalpartner,wehavedesignedatabletoprole-playinggameabouttheerosionofcivillibertiesin1930sBerlin.Ourplaytestingtodatehasbeenfocusedonimprovingthedesignofthegame.Wewouldliketobegincollectingdataaboutplayers’experiencesinamoreformalway,inparticularaboutwhattheyhavelearnedfromplaying.YoushouldbefluentinspokenEnglish;experiencewithtabletoprole-playinggamesand/orconductinginterviewsisaplus.GAMERESEARCHPlaytestNight(PlaytestCoordinator)JessicaHammer/OH!LabContact:XinTu(7xintu@gmail.com)WerunaweeklyplaytestnighttohelpgamedesignersatCMUfindplaytestersandtobuildcommunityamonggamedesignersatCMU.Yourresponsibilitieswillinclude:setupandteardownoftheweeklyplaytestnight;orderingfood;publicizingtheevent;maintainingthegroup’sFacebookpage;andcollectingdataabouthowtoimproveplaytestingatCMU.Thisisapaidposition.

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GAMERESEARCHMentalHealthGames(GameDesigner/Developer)JessicaHammer/OH!LabContact:MeharSawhney(msawhney@andrew.cmu.edu)OurcollaboratorDr.Radovichascreatedtwosocialmediasitestosupportteensandparentswhoaredealingwithanxietyand/ordepression.Shewouldliketoexploregamestoimproveunderstandingofthesite’scoreconcepts(e.g.thatteenswithdepressionarenotatfaultforhowtheyfeel)andtoincreaseengagement/retention.YouwillbepartofateamusingtheTandemTransformationalGameDesignprocesstoproduceoneormoregameprototypes.Youshouldbewillingtocontributetoagamedesignteaminoneormoreofthefollowingroles:gamedesign,visualdesign,paperprototypingandplaytesting,andgamedevelopment.GAMERESEARCHHumanRelationshipsandAugmentedReality(GameDesigner/Developer)JessicaHammer/OH!LabContact:PoBhattacharyya(pathikrb@andrew.cmu.edu)Howmightaugmentedrealityenabletheexplorationofhumanrelationships?Mightagameprovidemeaningfulinsightsintothebondswesharewithothers?Inafuturebeyondscreen-baseddevices,mightitbecomeeasiertobetrulypresentwithourlovedones?Thisspring,wearecreatinganaugmentedrealitygamethatenricheshumanrelationshipsthroughchallenge,collaboration,andmutualdiscovery.Wewillusethetandemtransformationalgamedesignmethodtocreatethegame,andwewillalsodevelopaworkingprototypeofthegameinAR,possiblyonthehololens.Youshouldbewillingtocontributetoagamedesignteaminoneormoreofthefollowingroles:gamedesign,visualdesign,playtesting,andARdevelopment.GAMERESEARCHSCIPRCuriosityTabletopGames(ResearchAssistant)JessicaHammer/OH!LabContact:AlexandraTo(aato@cs.cmu.edu)

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Wearedesigningandstudyingnon-digitalgame-basedinterventionstoempowermarginalizedyouthbyincreasingcomfortwithcuriosity.Wearelookingforaresearchassistantwhoiscomfortableperforminganumberofresearchtaskspotentiallyincludinganyof:workingwithlocalcommunitycenterstorecruitadolescentparticipantsforalabstudy,runningandcoordinatingafieldstudywithchildren,designingandproducingphysicalgamematerials,datacollectionandanalysis,andpaperwriting.Moreimportantthanexperiencewithanyoftheseareasiscomfortworkingwithchildrenandenthusiasmforlearningnewskills!HCI+SOFTWAREENGINEERINGWanted:ProgrammersforresearchonMulti-modalEnd-UserProgrammableIntelligentConversationalAssistantforSmartphonesBradA.MyersContact:TobyLi<tobyli@cs.cmu.edu>IntelligentvirtualassistantsonsmartphoneslikeSiriandGoogleAssistantcanperformtasksontheuser'sbehalf,buttheircapabilitiesarelimitedtotheappsandservicestheysupport,withoutawayforuserstoteachthemnewtasks.Prof.BradMyersandPhDstudentTobyLiintheHCII(alongwithcollaboratorsacrossSCS)havearesearchprojectondesigningandbuildingamulti-modalsmartphoneintelligentagentthatenablestheuserstoprogramittoperformnewtasksbydemonstrationandverbalinstructions.Wehavefinishedthedevelopmentofafirstversionofthesystemandarelookingforstudentstohelpdevelopnewfeatures.WeneedstudentswhoareexperiencedprogrammersinJava,preferablywithAndroiddevelopmentexperience.Moredetailsaboutthisprojectisavailableathttp://www.cs.cmu.edu/~NatProg/sugilite.htmlThisprojectcanbedoneforpayorforindependentstudycredit,butforcreditispreferred.Weenvisionthistakingabout9to12hoursperweekduringtheSpringsemester,andfull-timeduringsummerisalsoanoption.Studentsarealsoparticularlyencouragedtotalkwithusiftheyhavetheirownideasaroundend-userprogrammableintelligentpersonalassistants.Requiredskills:StrongJavaprogrammingskillsPreferredskills:Androiddevelopment,naturallanguageprocessing,dialogsystem,visualization,UXdesignandresearchPleasesendtoTobyLi<tobyli@cs.cmu.edu>:

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(1)yourgradeorlevelanddegreeprogram(e.g.,MastersofHCIorJuniorBHCIsecondmajor),(2)ifyouareanundergraduate,thenwhetheryouareaUScitizen,(3)yourresume,(4)alistofyourgradesinCSclasses,(5)adescriptionofyourrelatedexperience,(6)whetheryouwanttoworkformoneyorcredit,and(7)howmanyhoursperweekyouwanttowork.HCI+SOFTWAREENGINEERINGWanted:ProgrammersforresearchonAPIUsabilityContact:BradMyers<bam@cs.cmu.edu>ApplicationProgrammingInterfaces(APIs),includinglibraries,frameworks,toolkits,andsoftwaredevelopmentkits(SDKs),areusedbyvirtuallyallcodeandhavesignificantvaluetocompanies.Forexample,Amazonreportedaprofit$1.8billiononcompaniesusingAWSlastyear.Theusabilityofcompanies'APIshavebeenreportedtobecrucialtohavingprogrammersusetheAPIs,yetarerarelystudiedorevaluated.WearecollaboratingwithGoogleonresearchaboutwaystomeasureandimprovetheusabilityofAPIs.Forspring,2017(withoptionalcontinuingworkthroughthesummer),wehavethefollowingtasksinmind:(A)ThereareafewaspectsofAPIqualityandusabilitythatcanbeautomaticallychecked,suchaswhethertherightnamesareusedforidentifiers.ThisprojectwouldinvolveminingsoftwarerepositoriestotrytoevaluateotheraspectsofAPIquality.Forexample,howmuch"wrapper"or"boilerplate"codeisneededtouseanAPI?WhatpartsofanAPIareheavilyusedvs.notmuchused?ArethereerroneouspatternsofAPIusagewecandetect?(B)SimilartoA,thisprojectwouldtrytoevaluateAPIqualityandusabilitythroughstudyinglogsofprogrammerediting.Anumberofcodeeditorscannowrecordalogofalltheprogrammers'keystrokes.ThisprojectwouldbetocreateatoolthatcantakethesedetailedlogsandidentifysituationsinwhichprogrammersareattemptingtouseanAPIandarehavingtrouble.Thiswillprovidemorefine-grainedbutlarge-scaleinformationsuchaswhichpartsofanAPIarethemosttime-consumingtounderstand.(C)ExistingAPIsforusingconventionalserviceshaveexistedforawhile,butcompaniesarenowcomingoutwithnewAPIslikeforMachineLearning(likeGoogleTensorFlow),NaturalLanguageProcessing,BigDataAnalytics(likeGoogleBigQuery),etc.ThisprojectwillbetoanalyzetheusabilityofthesenewAPIs.ThiswillinvolvedesigningandhopefullyalsocarryingoutalabusabilityevaluationstudyoftheseAPIs.Moredetailsaboutthisprojectisavailableat:http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~NatProg/apiusability.html

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Thisprojectcanbedoneforpayorforindependentstudycredit,butforcreditispreferred.Weenvisionthistakingabout9to12hoursperweekduringtheSpringsemester,andthereisanoptionforfull-timeduringsummer.StudentsarealsoparticularlyencouragedtotalkwithusiftheyhavetheirownideasaroundAPIUsability.Requiredskills:StrongprogrammingskillsPreferredskills:Webservicesprogramming;strongJavaScriptskills;dataanalysisskills;UXdesignandresearchPleasesendtoBradMyers<bam@cs.cmu.edu>:(1)yourlevelanddegreeprogram(e.g.,SeniorinCSD,MastersofHCI,etc.),(2)ifyouareanundergraduate,thenwhetheryouareaUScitizen,(3)yourresume,(4)alistofyourgradesinCSandanyHCIclasses,(5)adescriptionofyourrelevantexperience,(6)whetheryouwanttoworkformoneyorcredit,(7)howmanyhoursperweekyouwanttoworkinthespring,and(8)whichoftheabovetaskortasksyouareinterestedin.HCI+SOFTWAREENGINEERINGWanted:ProgrammersforresearchonKnowledgeAccelerationforProgrammingBradA.Myers&NikiKitturContact:MichaelLiu<xieyangl@cs.cmu.edu>Programmersspendasignificantproportionoftheirtimesearchingforandmakingsenseofcomplexinformationinordertoaccomplishtheirgoals,whetherchoosingamongbetweendifferentAPIs,adaptingcodesnippetsfoundontheInternettomeettheirneeds,ortryingtolearnunfamiliarcodetofixanerrororaddanewfeature.Whenperformingtaskslikethese,programmerscontinuallyaremakinghypotheses,proposingquestions,anddiscoveringanswers.However,aftereachsense-makingepisodeinwhichaprogrammergainsknowledgeforthemselves,theirworkisessentiallylost,withnooneelsebenefiting.Althoughtherearemanytoolstohelpprogrammersfindtheanswers,thereareveryfewtoolstohelpprogrammersmakeuseoftheknowledgegainedperformingthetask,orsharethatknowledgewithothers.ProfessorsBradMyersandNikiKittur,alongwithPh.D.studentMichaelLiuintheHCIIhavearesearchprojectondesigning,buildingandevaluatingsystemsintheformofbrowserextensionsorIDE/texteditorpluginsthatmakeprogrammersmoreeffectiveandefficient.Wehavedonemanypilotinterviewswithprogrammersabouttheirexperiencesandneeds,andarelookingtostartbuildingthesesystemsinthespring.Weneedstudentswhoareexperiencedwithwebprogramming,especiallywithHTML/CSS/Javascript.Knowledgeofback-endprogrammingusingNode.js/express/MongoDBispreferred.

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Thisprojectcanbedoneforpayorforindependentstudycredit,butforcreditispreferred.Weenvisionthistakingabout9to12hoursperweekduringtheSpringsemester,andfull-timeduringsummerisalsoanoption.Studentsarealsoparticularlyencouragedtotalkwithusiftheyhavetheirownideasaroundmakingprogrammersmoreeffectiveandefficient.Requiredskills:Strongwebprogrammingskills.PleasesendtoMichaelLiu<xieyangl@cs.cmu.edu>:1)yourgradeorlevelanddegreeprogram(e.g.,MastersofHCIorJuniorCSDwithBHCIsecondmajor),(2)ifyouareanundergraduate,thenwhetheryouareaUScitizen,(3)yourresume/CV,(4)alistofyourgradesinanyCSandHCIclasses,(5)adescriptionofyourrelatedexperienceandwhywouldyouliketoworkonthisproject,(6)whetheryouwanttoworkformoneyorcredit,and(7)howmanyhoursperweekyouwanttowork.HCI+SOFTWAREENGINEERINGProgrammersforresearchonObsidian:aSaferBlockchainProgrammingLanguageContact:MichaelCoblenz<mcoblenz@cs.cmu.edu>Blockchainsareanewapproachtodistributedcomputingthatenableapplicationstoprocessimportanttransactions,suchasfinancialtransactions,onanetworkofuntrustedhosts.Unfortunately,currentapproachestoprogrammingblockchainsystemshaveresultedinserioussecurityvulnerabilities;over$80Mhasbeenstolenfromvulnerableprogramstodate.Weareworkingonanewprogramminglanguage,Obsidian,thateliminatescertainclassesofvulnerabilitiesbyintegratingsophisticatedtypesystems.WearedesigningObsidianinauser-centeredway,focusingonlanguagefeaturesthatwillhelpprogrammersbeeffectiveatwritingcorrect,secureprograms.WearelookingforstudentswhoareexperiencedprogrammerstoworkonObsidian--primarilyworkingonthecompiler,whichisimplementedinScalaandtranslatesfromObsidiantoJava.Theremightbeadditionalopportunities,especiallylaterinthesemester,toworkonrelatedtools,suchaseditingsupport,makingObsidianworkonarealblockchainplatform,andrunninguserstudies.Requiredskills:strongprogrammingskillsinanobject-orientedlanguage,suchasJavaIdealcandidateswouldhaveexperienceorcourseworkinprogramminglanguagesorcompilers,butwewillconsidercandidateswithoutthisbackground.Softwareengineeringexperienceorcourseworkisalsobeneficial.

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PleasesendtoMichaelCoblenz<mcoblenz@cs.cmu.edu>:(1)yourlevelanddegreeprogram(e.g.,SeniorinCSD,MastersofHCI,etc.),(2)ifyouareanundergraduate,thenwhetheryouareaUScitizen,(3)yourresume,(4)alistofyourgradesinrelevantCSclasses,(5)whetheryouwanttoworkformoneyorcredit,(6)howmanyhoursperweekyouwanttoworkinthespring,(7)abriefexplanationofwhyyouareinterestedinworkingontheprojectandwhatyou'rehopingtodo.INTERACTIONDESIGNVisualizingBiosignalsinSocialInteractionsContact:LauraDabbish<dabbish@cs.cmu.edu>,FannieLiuffl@cs.cmu.eduWe’reusingphysiologicalsensorstobetterunderstandthedynamicsofsocialinteraction.Bymeasuringandrevealingbiosignals,suchasourheartrate,skinconductance,andbrainactivity,weaimtoimproveremotecommunicationbetweenpeople.Theindependentstudystudentonthisprojectwillhelpusdesignanddevelopnewinteractiontoolsthatdisplaythesedataaspartofneworexistingchatsystems,andrunuserstudiestounderstandhowpeopleinteractthroughthesesystems.TheprojectwillinvolvecreativityANDprogramming.Studentsshouldhavefamiliaritywithoneormoreofthefollowing:webprogramming(HTML/CSS/JavaScript),Java,orAndroid.Interestinsocialinteraction,interfacedesign,and/orphysiologicalsensingwouldbeaplus!InterestedstudentsshouldsendtheirresumeandmajorGPAtoffl@cs.cmu.edu.INTERACTIONDESIGN,SECURITY&PRIVACYSocialCybersecurityMini-GamesandEverydayInterventionsContact:LauraDabbish<dabbish@cs.cmu.edu>,JasonHongResearchonthehumanfactorsofcybersecurityoftentreatspeopleasisolatedindividualsratherthanassocialactorswithinawebofrelationshipsandsocialinfluences.Thisprojectleveragesknownsocialinfluenceprinciplestoimprovecybersecuritybehaviorandenhancesecuritytooladoption.Therearetwoindependentstudyopportunitiesassociatedwiththisresearcheffort:• Cybersecuritymini-games:Theindependentstudystudentonthisprojectwillwork

ondesigninganddevelopingweb-basedsecurity-relatedminigames.Thestudentmayalsohaveanopportunitytoconductevaluationsoftheseminigames.

• Everydaymicro-interventions:Theindependentstudystudentonthisprojectwill

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workondesigninganddevelopinginteractiontechniquesthatincorporatecybersecuritytrainingandinformationintopeople’severydayworkflows.Thestudentmayalsohaveanopportunitytoconductevaluationsoftheseinterventions.

Wearelookingforstudentswhoareinterestedininteractiondesignandwebprogramming(front-endorback-end).Familiaritywith(orinterestedinlearning)PythonorRubyaplus.Javascriptalsoaplus.Interestedstudentsshouldsendtheirresume,majorGPAandlinksanyrelevantprojectstodabbish@cmu.eduINTELLIGENTAGENTSMessageOnTap:AnIntelligentAgentforStreamliningMessagingContact:FanglinChen(chenfanglintc@gmail.com)MessageOnTapisanintelligentagentwearebuildingforofferingsmartactionsbasedonmessagessenttoyoursmartphone.Forexample,ifyougetthemessage"Here'smynewphone#555-5555",theagentmighthighlightthatandmakeitoneclicktoupdatethecontact.Or,ifyougetthemessage"canwemeettomorrow?",youcanclickonthemessage,seeasnippetofyourcalendar,andthensendaquickresponsebackconfirmingatime.Yoursmartphonemightalsocheckifyou'recurrentlydrivingandauto-respondtomessages"I’mdriving,willgetbacktoyousoon".We'relookingforsoftwaredeveloperstohelpimprovethisintelligentagent,aswellastododatacollectionandanalysis.IdealSkills:Androidprogramming,NaturalLanguageProcessing,intelligentagents,machinelearning,Python,dataanalysisskillsIoT,PRIVACY&SECURITYIoTHubforPrivacyandSecurityContact:JasonHong(jasonh@cs.cmu.edu)TheInternetofThingsiscoming.Howcanweprotecteverydaypeoplefromallofthelikelyprivacyandsecurityrisks?We'reinvestigatinghowcentralizedhubscanhelpoffernewkindsofservicesthatcanhelpwithprivacy,security,andmanagementoflotsofdevices.Examplesincludecheckingforsoftwareupdatesfordevices,easywaysofblockingunexpectednetworktraffic,andsimplekindsofend-userprogrammingtoconnectdevicestogether.We'relookingforbothaUXdesigneraswellasoneormoresoftwaredevelopers.Expectingstudentstoaverageabout10hoursaweekonthisresearch(moreisfine),forpayorindependentstudy.

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IdealSkills:SomesubsetofAndroidprogramming,Linux,webprogramming,UXdesign,networkingMOBILEAPPLICATIONDEVELOPMENT,SENSEMAKING,USERRESEARCH BentoBrowser—anewwaytobrowseandsearchContact:nhahn@cs.cmu.eduWeareworkingtoreimaginehowindividualsusewebbrowsersonmobiledevices.Thewebhasbecomeaninformationparadise—wecandiscoverwheretoeat,whatnewlaptopweshouldbuy,andevenwhereweshouldgoonournextvacation.Butnotonlyarewedoingthismoreandmore,butthereareagrowingnumberofopinionsandresourceswithanswerstoourquestions.Aretabedbrowsersreallythebestwaytohelpussortthroughallthisinformation?Isthereabetterwaytoorganizeourwebbrowsing?Wearelookingforstudentswhoareinterestedinbuildingorworkingoffsomeofthesystemswehavedevelopedsofar.Somepossibleprojectswereareconsideringinclude:• Addingassistancefromcrowdworkersforonlinesearchtasks• Addingcollaborativefeaturestoallowforabetterbrowsingexperienceamongfriends

/colleagues• Workingtotestandredesignuserinterfaceelementsofthecurrentsystem• BuildingabrowserclientfordesktoporaChromeextensiontosupplementexisting

browsers.• Analyzingbehavioraltrendsamongusersutilizingourapplication.• Workwiththecurrentprototypetoperformusertesting,including:thinkalouds,

diarystudies,questionnaires,andA/BtestsSkillsdesiredincludeprogrammingproficiency(Objective-C,Node.js),Front-enddevelopmentexperience,NLP/MLfamiliarity,orUI/UXdesignskills.Anyoneinterestedcansendmeanemailatnhahn@cs.cmu.edu,andincludeabriefdescriptionofwhytheyareinterestedintheproject,alongwiththeirresumeandGPAifavailable.PRIVACY&SECURITYClearTerms:SimplifyingTermsandConditions

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Contact:ShawnHanna(shawnkarlhanna@gmail.com)NobodyreadsTerms&Conditionsonwebsites.Whatifwecouldpredictwhatpeoplewouldcarethemostabout,andjusthighlightthose?Ourteamhascreatedpreliminarylanguagemodelsandawebsitetoshowcaseourresults.We'relookingforsoftwaredeveloperstohelpusimprovefunctionalityonourwebsite,helpcrawlmoreTerms&Conditionsfromtheweb,andhelpimproveourlanguagemodelforanalyzingpolicies.Expectingstudentstoaverageatleast10hoursaweekonthisresearch(moreisfine),forpayorindependentstudy.IdealSkills:Experiencedevelopingwebsites,HTML+CSS+JavaScript,basicNLPormachinelearningSOCIALCOMPUTINGContact:ChinmayKulkarni<chinmayk@andrew.cmu.edu>Buildinga"calm"teamcommunicationtool:(Socialcomputing)CurrenttoolsforteamcommunicationlikeSlackarecreatingaworkplacethatiscontinuouslydistracted.Weareusingresearchonidealfocustime-lengthsforwork/productivitytobuildatoolthat:a)resultsinanorderofmagnitudefewerdistractions(comparedtocurrenttools),b)missimportantcommunicationlessoften,andc)allowsworkerstocatchuptocommunicationquickly,andatatimewhenworkisnotinterrupted.SeemyMediumpostonthegenesisofthisproject:https://medium.com/@chinmay/my-struggle-with-deep-work-5e326f661b15Needsomeonewhohassuperstrongdesignskills(especiallyforweb)--e.g.Sketch,CSS&HTML,Vue.js.Knowledgeofmachinelearning(e.g.howtobuildaneuralre-ranker)alsouseful.Idealforstudentswhowanttobuildanddeploytorealaudiences,andunderstandhowtorapidlyprototypebasedonexistingresearch.Apaperispossible,butnotlikelybeforegraduation.SOCIALCOMPUTINGIdentifyingBehavioralPatternsinFinancialSocialNetworks

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Contact:LauraDabbish<dabbish@cmu.edu>Wearelookingtounderstandpatternsandbehaviorsinfinancialsocialnetworks.WehavearchivaldatafromStocktwits,oneofthelargestonlinecommunitiesrelatedtostocksandassets.Theindependentstudyonthisprojectwillinvolveanalyzingpostingandcommentingpatternstoimproveourunderstandingofhowmembersinteractandengageinsuchactivities.Theprojectrequiresdataanalysisskillssuchasnetworkanalysisandtextanalysisskillsandprogrammingability.FamiliaritywithRorequivalentstatisticalanalysisprogram,andprogramminginPythonwillbeuseful.Interestinfinancialnetworks,socialnetworkanalysisandfinanceare+++.InterestedstudentsshouldsendtheirresumealongwithmajorGPAtodabbish@cmu.eduSOCIALCOMPUTING,DATAVISUALIZATION,DATASCIENCE UnderstandingEmergentSocialRolesandRoleEffectivenessinaCrowdfundingSiteContact:DiyiYang,diyiy@cs.cmu.edu;RobertKraut,robert.kraut@cmu.eduDescription:Kivaisapeer-to-peerlendingplatformthatallowspeopletolendmoneytoothers. Kiva has Lending Teams, through which lenders who have something incommon(e.g.,interests,socialidentityorpersonalrelationships)canbandtogetherandtry toconvinceeachother to supportparticular loans. This studyaims tounderstandtheemergentsocialrolesthatteammembersoccupywhenparticipatingintheirteamdiscussionboardsinKiva,andhowtheiroccupiedroleshelpstheirteamscontributetomore loans. For example, somemembers seem to specialize in advocating for loansthatareabouttoexpire(loanclean-upmembers)whileothersmainlytalktopeopletoenlarge their social networks (social networkers). For students with social science,psychology background, this involves studying the leadership styles of team captains,observing the typical behavior patterns associated with teammembers, interviewingmembers to understand how they perform their “roles” in a qualitative way. Forstudents with data science background, this involves extending machine learningmethodstomapmembersintodifferentroleclustersbasedontheirbehavioralprofiles,and prototyping interventions to help diagnose what roles a team is missing andmatching people with proper roles that best take use of their interests and skills. Ineithercase,studentswilllearnsocialroles,typicalrolebehaviorsandroleinfluencesonteam performance in this crowd-funding context, from both theoretical and practicalperspectives.Student Requirements: Both HCII undergraduate students andmasters who have aninterest inpsychology,socialcomputing,datascienceandnatural languageprocessingarewelcomed.

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SOCIALCOMPUTING/ONLINECOMMUNITIESCross-platformModerationandManagementStudyJosephSeeringandGeoffKaufmanContact:JosephSeering(jseering@andrew.cmu.edu)Wearestudyingtheorganizationalstructuresofonlinecommunities,exploringthecharacteristicsofcommunitiesthatrelatetohowtheymanageandmoderatethecontentcreatedbyusersaswellasthoseusers'socialbehaviors.YouwillassisttheprojectteamwithinterviewingFacebookmoderatorsabouttheirmoderationpracticesandsynthesizingtheresultingdata.Datawillthenbecomparedtodatacollectedfromotherplatformsinpreparationforaresearchpapersubmission.Seekingfocusedindividualswithgoodinterpersonalskillssuitableforrecruitingforandperforminginterviews.Methodswillbeprimarilyqualitative.SOCIALCOMPUTING/ONLINECOMMUNITIESDetectingEffectiveResponsestoHateSpeechJosephSeeringandGeoffKaufmanContact:JosephSeering(jseering@andrew.cmu.edu)Weaimtodevelopmodelstodetectwhenandhowusersrespondtohatespeechandharassmentincommentsincommunitiesonline.Thisprojectwillhavethreephases:first,modelswillbedevelopedtodetectcommentsandpostswithhatespeech,asdefinedbyusers.Second,modelswillbeusedtodetectandclassifyhowusersrespondtotheseinstancesofhatespeech.Third,variousanalyseswillbeperformedtodeterminewhenandhowdifferentresponsesaredifferentlyeffective.TheseapproacheswillbecomplementedwithaqualitativeanalysisofvideofromTwitch,focusingonincidencesofharassmentandhatespeech,identifyinghowstreamersrespondandwhattheresultis.Therearetwoindependentstudypositionsavailableforthisproject.Thefirstwillfocusondetectionandquantitativeanalysisoflargevolumesoftextposts.Experiencewithbasicmachinelearningmethodsisaplusincandidates.ThesecondpositionwillfocusonthequalitativeanalysisofTwitchvideo,forwhichnopreviousresearchexperienceisneeded.SOCIALCOMPUTING/ONLINECOMMUNITIES

HCIIResearch/IndependentStudySpring2018

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InterveningtoMitigateHarassmentandHateSpeechJosephSeeringandGeoffKaufmanContact:JosephSeering(jseering@andrew.cmu.edu)Thisfairlyopen-endedprojectwillexplorepsychologically-baseddesignstoreducevolumeofhatespeechandharassmentonlineonvariousplatforms.Theprojectwillincludeideation,development,andexperimentaltestingofinterventions.Previousdesignexperiencedesiredalongwithbasicdevelopmentskills.Nopriorexperiencewithresearchexperimentsnecessary.SOCIALMEDIARESEARCHActivismonTwitter(ResearchAssistant)JessicaHammer/OH!LabContact:JudethOdenChoi(jochoi@cs.cmu.edu)Wearestudyinghowtweetsfromsocialjusticeactivistsareperceived.Aresearchassistantisneededtoanalyzesurveydata,statisticalanalysisandproficiencyinRisrequired.Aresearchassistantmayalsohelpsynthesizebothqualitativeandquantitativedata,andifmotivated,mayassistinwritingaresearchpaperforCSCW.SOCIALMEDIARESEARCHRaceandIdentityonSocialMedia(ResearchAssistant)JessicaHammer/OH!LabContact:AlexandraTo(aato@cs.cmu.edu)Wearestudyinghowpeopleleveragetheirsocialnetworksthroughdigitalmedia(e.g.,socialmediaplatforms,textmessages,videocall,etc.)tocopewithinstancesofracializedaggression(e.g.,microaggressions,threatsofviolence,etc.).Thisworkisinitspreliminarystagesandmayinvolveconductinginterviews,readingandreviewingrelatedscientificliteraturerelatedtothedevelopmentofracialandethnicidentity,andqualitativedataanalysis.SOCIALMEDIARESEARCHSharingandDiscussingOnlineVideo(ResearchAssistant)

HCIIResearch/IndependentStudySpring2018

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JessicaHammer/OH!LabContact:JessicaHammer(hammerj@andrew.cmu.edu)Wearebeginninganewprojectonhowpeopleformandmanagerelationshipsusingprofessionallyproducedonlinevideo,includingbothfictionandnon-fictionvideo.Wearelookingforaresearchassistanttohelpusbuildaliteraturereview,aswellastocoordinatewithourresearchpartnerstounderstandthedatasourcestheyhaveavailabletous.Youshouldhaveexperiencesearchingliteraturedatabasesandhavewrittenatleastoneliteraturereviewinthepast.Thiscanbeanindependentstudyorapaidposition.USABLEPRIVACY&SECURITYBrandeis:DesigningUserInterfacesforSmartphonePrivacyContact:JasonHong(jasonh@cs.cmu.edu)ThegoaloftheBrandeisprojectistomakeitvastlyeasierfordevelopersandend-userstomanageprivacyinthecontextofsensor-basedsmartphoneapps.Wearelookingforstudentstohelpwiththedesignofuserinterfacestohelppeopleunderstandwhatdataanappmightcollectaboutthem,specifyprivacypolicies,andcheckthateverythingisok.IdealSkills:Visualdesign,interactiondesign.Experiencewithprivacy,security,andAndroidisaplus.