Below is a selection of ATLAS PhD dissertations. For听details on all ATLAS PhD dissertations听with links to full documents, refer to .
Fiona Bell鈥擝iomaterials for More-Than-Human Futures
Advisory Committee:听Mirela Alistar, Laura Devendorf, Daniel Leithinger, Stacey Kuznetsov, Katia C谩nepa Vega
In the last century, humans鈥� impact on our natural environment has become increasingly unsustainable. One way to potentially stop and reverse this trend is to prioritize sustainability in the design and production of materials and artifacts that we use every day. Accordingly, this dissertation presents a process for designing with biomaterials, materials that are derived from living organisms that can easily biodegrade in the environment. I offer how to make and make-with three different biomaterials: (1) Alganyl, an algae-based bioplastic, (2) ReClaym, a compost-based bioclay, and (3) SCOBY, a cellulose-based bioleather. For each biomaterial, I describe recipes, properties, methods, potential uses, and life cycle from generation to decay. Through this, I encourage makers of any age or expertise reading this dissertation to incorporate these biomaterials, methods, and design considerations into their own creative making practices. By engaging makers far and wide with these biomaterials and making practices, I believe that we can take steps towards sustainable, more-than-human futures.
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Nicole Johnson鈥擬aking Tactile Pictures More Available: Techniques & Communities
Advisory Committee:听Tom Yeh, Emily B. Moore, Danielle Szafir, Ellen Yi-Luen Do, John Guerra Gomez
This work addresses visual content accessibility for blind and low vision communities through the lenses of technique development and community engagement with an overarching question of 鈥淗ow can we make tactile pictures more available?鈥� This inquiry takes a participatory, action-based design approach to break this question down based on the two lenses. The first stage of inquiry focuses on present and future tactile image techniques, leading to the development of a novel production approach using a commercially available cutting machine. The next stage explored the existing and the developed techniques in practice through four separate case studies. This work contributes new and deeper understanding to tactile reading literacy and content availability by leveraging insights gained through design and community interactions.
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Julia Uhr鈥擷R Epistemology
Advisory Committee:听Ellen Yi-Luen Do, Ajume Wingo, Amy Banic, Nickoal Eichmann-Kalwara, Anthony Kelley
This dissertation introduces the field of 鈥渆xtended reality鈥� (XR) epistemology as an interdisciplinary subfield of human-computer interaction that may be of interest to toolmakers, designers, philosophers, and legal scholars. It also starts to answer some of the research questions that arise in XR epistemology, like how immersive user interfaces can affect people鈥檚 ability to acquire knowledge. It identifies possible epistemic issues raised by XR and suggests strategies for mitigating them. It provides usable, conceptual tools that can help XR designers analyze epistemic issues in their work, and discusses XR projects that act as examples of epistemically responsible XR design. Additionally, it addresses ways in which people gain knowledge in XR other than sensory perception, like talking to people and having experiences, and it examines how different issues related to free speech and metaphysics can affect people鈥檚 ability to have genuine experiences and gain knowledge through XR user interfaces.
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Shanel Wu鈥擱etooling E-Textiles for Coproduction: Weaving Circuitry as Cloth (2023)
Advisory Committee:听Laura Devendorf, Mirela Alistar, Leah Buechley, Daniel Leithinger, Gregory Whiting
Researchers are interested in combining electronics with textile materials and structures to create 鈥渆-textiles鈥� (or 鈥渟mart textiles鈥�), as e-textiles have potential applications in medical devices, smart vehicles, space travel, and much more. Like many disciplines (and the rest of the world), there are growing concerns for sustainability in e-textiles. My dissertation grapples with such questions through the lens of craft, exploring how it reframes what 鈥渢echnology鈥� means and how it could influence relationships between humans and technology. The method of retooling for coproduction emerged through my PhD studies as my way of engaging sustainability through hands-on making, which I present as a possible 鈥渄esign orientation鈥� for other e-textiles designers. Tracing 鈥渃raft鈥� throughout key research projects during my PhD journey, this dissertation follows my learning process of stitching together ideas from design justice (retooling), feminist technoscience (coproduction), speculative design, digital fabrication, and handcraft traditions. The products of this research are e-textiles design tools, such as woven circuits that can unravel, and tangible interfaces for prototyping on looms. But I鈥檝e learned to just call them 鈥渢extiles鈥� tools. Crafts have taught me that textiles have been 鈥渟mart鈥� technologies for centuries before our digital devices, and that these histories may suggest sustainable futures.
Katie Gach鈥擧ow To Delete the Dead: Honoring Affective Connections To Post-mortem Data听(2021)
Advisory Committee:听Jed R. Brubaker;听Nabil Echchaibi;听Wendy Moncur:听Casey Fiesler;听Laura Devendorf
When a person with a Facebook account dies, two options exist for reflecting that death within the social media platform: memorialization or deletion. Through almost 150 hours of interviews with 76 participants over five years, the four studies in this dissertation describe discoveries, analyses, and insights of people鈥檚 experiences with Facebook鈥檚 post-mortem account options. Three studies involved people who had gone through processes of post-mortem profile management on Facebook. The findings of these studies reveal expectation gaps that could be addressed through an intentionally friction-filled setup process for post-mortem account management. The fourth study walked through the post-mortem management process alongside people who had recently lost a loved one, and discovered the rich details of difficulties rooted in computational misunderstandings of core elements of human relationships (norms, expectations, and trust). Following these empirical findings, I discuss what might be done to bring our online behavior closer to our deepest relational needs during times of grief. In a meta-analysis, I present the concept of identity as an 鈥渁ffective constellation鈥�, to supplement what is typically understood as a 鈥渦ser鈥� for HCI during sensitive life experiences. This work concludes by suggesting a path forward for post-mortem data management that involves collaboration with the growing movement of community death care workers.听
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Chris Bopp鈥擠oing 鈥淕ood鈥� with Data? Understanding and Working Around Data Doubles in Human Services Organizations (2020)
Advisory Committee: Amy Voida, Lehn Benjamin, Geoffrey Bowker, Leysia Palen, Danielle Varda
Human services represent the largest portion (73%) of US federal spending. Under the federalist system, decision making authority is shared by the federal, state, and local governments thereby decentralizing responsibility for the delivery of social services across multiple levels of government and implementing nonprofit organizations. This research illustrates that in order to support the kinds of innovative uses of big data that many desire in the social sector, more diverse stakeholders need to be involved in the design and implementation of data systems so that they may better meet the needs of clients, staff, and the community. Together, this empirical work contributes a detailed analysis of data work across multi-level computer supported cooperative work in the human services domain.听
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Lila Finch鈥擫uminous Science: an Investigation of Transdisciplinary Education (2020)
Advisory Committee: Ben Shapiro, Susan Jurow, Joe Polman, Kylie Peppler, Katie Van Horne
I want to create transdisciplinary learning environments that bring together the arts, sciences, and computing in school-based education. My research is about figuring out how to improve learning in these disciplines by providing avenues for breaking down the siloed nature of disciplinary classrooms and changing practices that currently limit access to these disciplines for people with non-normative identities and practices. Transdisciplinary maker-based, technology-supported, representational practices could expand the normative sensemaking practices that artificially separate these disciplines. 听
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David Oonk鈥擜ssessing the Present and Future of Fracking Governance: Science, Expertise, and Policy of Fracking in Colorado鈥檚 Denver Julesburg Basin (2020)
Advisory Committee: Max Boykoff, Morgan Bazilian, Michaele Ferguson, Steve Vanderheiden, Shelly Miller
The shale oil and gas boom in the United States driven by hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, or 鈥榝racking鈥� has brought long term question over fracking鈥檚 role in the energy transition to a near-zero-carbon future, and short term questions over its public and environmental impacts. This research examines both the long-term and short term questions of fracking and the role that science and expertise plays in decision-making in Colorado.听 Together this thesis addresses the long and short term questions of fracking and the challenges to policy-makers and scientists. There are many ways in which experts interact in collaborative and uncontested ways around fracking science and boundary work.听
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Clement Zheng鈥擡veryday Materials for Physical Interactive Systems (2020)
Advisory Committee: Ellen Yi-Luen Do, Mark D Gross, Laura Devendorf, Daniel Leithinger, Lining Yao
We live in a built environment shaped by a wide range of materials engineered for dierent purposes. Computers have permeated many aspects of this built environment, from living spaces to clothing. This ubiquitous computing context requires a new way of looking at the materiality of interactive systems. I reflect on the opportunities and challenges that everyday materials offer for building physical interactive systems, and propose a system for organizing the divergent facets that designers engage with during material-centered design.听 听听
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Donna Auguste鈥擜 Data Science Approach to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Identity Research for African American Communities (2019)
Advisory Committee: Shelly L. Miller, Joseph L. Polman, Tamara Clegg, Daria Kotys-Schwartz, Kira Hall
Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professionals, educators, and researchers seek to broaden participation in STEM fields by underrepresented groups, including African Americans. A deeper understanding of the bond between STEM learning and STEM identities can help broaden participation in STEM fields. One line of inquiry developed and deployed a toolkit to analyze social media content for STEM identities in African American STEM communities of practice. In another line of inquiry, families whose children had asthma used data science to analyze data from residential indoor air quality sensors to identify asthma triggers.听
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Brittany Kos鈥擜n Autoethnography of T9Hacks: 鈥淒esigning a Welcoming Hackathon for Women and Non-Binary Students to Learn and Explore Computing鈥� (2019)
Advisory Committee: Lecia Barker, Aileen Pierce, Susan Jurow, Catherine Ashcroft, Matthew Berland
This dissertation explores the design of inclusive and equitable collegiate hackathons. Hackathons are events where people gather together to build projects or solve problems. Collegiate hackathons can create an environment where marginalized students feel disinterested in attending or unwelcome. A disproportionate number of white and Asian men attend these events compared with women, non-binary students, and non-Asian students of color.听 The dissertation studies the social climate of hackathons and how it affects participants, particularly women and non-binary students. Why do (or do not) participants attend hackathons, what motivates them to attend, and what engages them?听
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Simone Hyater-Adams鈥擯erformances of Black Physics Identity: An exploration of the connections between identity, race, physics, and performance art (2019)
Advisory Committee: Noah Finkelstein, Kathleen Hinko
Black folks are underrepresented in physics, and more broadly in STEM. This work explores identity for Black physicists, and postulates that bridging science and art can address challenges in physics learning. The Critical Physics Identity (CPI) framework is a tool to understand structural and systemic factors that impact how folks identify with physics. Applying the CPI framework to analyze Black physicists' narratives highlights institutional and structural issues that mold their physics identities. Performance art can address these issues, which informs the design and implementation of an informal physics program designed to support student identity, that incorporates the performing arts.听
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Abigale Stangl鈥擳actile Media Consumption and Production for and By People who are Blind and Visually Impaired: A Design Research Investigation (2019)
Advisory Committee: Tom Yeh, Bridget Dalton, Shaun Kane, Clayton Lewis, Ben Shapiro, Ting Siu
This work studies how blind or visually impaired (BVI) people access, consume, design and produce with tactile media. Three interventionist studies鈥攁 3D printed design probe, a design ethnography and a series of tactile art and graphics symposia鈥攊nvestigate how blind and visually impaired people make, create, design and teach with tactile media. It identifies design strategies to address factors that limit BVI people鈥檚 tactile media consumption, creation, and instruction. The dissertation contributes insights about the lived experiences and practices of people who use, create, and teach with tactile media.听
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HyunJoo Oh鈥擟omputational Design Tools and Techniques for Paper Mechatronics (2018)
Advisory Committee: Mark D Gross, Michael Eisenberg, Sherry Hsi, Leah Buechley, Laura Devendorf
Paper Mechatronics is a new design medium for learning by making that integrates traditional papercrafting with mechanical, electrical, and computational components, adding to the creative possibilities of traditional papercrafting. This dissertation presents computational design tools and prototyping techniques to enable novices to build their own Paper Mechatronics, and discusses lessons learned from working with children, educators, and fellow researchers.This work establishes a foundation for Paper Mechatronics as a medium to enable creative learning and open a discourse on tools and techniques to broaden access to exploratory construction, thus promoting creativity.听听听
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Calvin Pohawpatchoko Jr.鈥擟ultural Constructionism: An Indigenous Computing Experience (2018)
Advisory Committee: Clayton H. Lewis, Sarah Hug, Mark Gross, Joseph Polman, Robert Whitman
This research investigates why Native Americans are underrepresented in computing, and how representation might be increased. The approach taken is to open a cultural space in learning theory, as applied to computing education. It explores how cultural history shapes identity and attitudes about education, as well as outlook on life more generally. Awareness of this cultural influence is badly needed in education and in computing education. Computing is a worldwide phenomenon adopted by many countries and cultures. However, educational approaches are more Westernized and generalized towards Western culture. To the contrary, this research finds production and education in computing to be a cultural activity influenced by its history. When understood in context, this research shows integrating one鈥檚 culture is an effective means to increase participation in computing.听听
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Jeffrey Wood Harriman, Jr.鈥擳he Development and Use of Scaffolded Design Tools for Interactive Music (2016)听
Advisory Committee: Michael Theodore, Mark D Gross, Michael Eisenberg, Miller Puckette, Tom Yeh
In music and the arts, electronic and computational technologies have created new ways of working, enabling new forms of creative expression and new experiences. New media artists and experimental musicians are exploring the possibilities enabled by computational, interactive and robotic technologies, and digital fabrication tools to enable new forms of expression and to create new experiences for audiences. The artists and musicians who employ these technologies at the bleeding edge create new techniques, hardware and software. New mediums and approaches like augmented reality, 3D printing, interactive and kinetic sculpture, new interfaces for musical expression, and robotic musical instruments are nascent compared to the violin or oil paints. These mediums represent new opportunities that require new tools and approaches to realize their potential. This dissertation is about creating and using such design tools for interactive music.听听
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Katherine Goodman鈥擳he Transformative Experience in Engineering Education (2015)
Advisory Committee: John K Bennett, Jean Hertzberg, Tim Curran
This research evaluates the usefulness of transformative experience in engineering education. With 听transformative experiences, students 1) apply ideas from coursework to everyday experiences without prompting (motivated use); 2) see everyday situations through the lens of course content (expanded perception); and 3) value course content in new ways because it enriches everyday affective experience (affective value). In a three part study, we examine how engineering educators can promote student progress toward transformative experiences and reliably measure that progress.听
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Kevin Moloney鈥擣uture of Story: Transmedia Journalism and National Geographic鈥檚 Future of Food Project (2015)
Advisory Committee: Mark Winokur, Len Ackland, John K Bennett, Jill Dupr茅, Marie-Laure Ryan
This dissertation describes the techniques of transmedia storytelling and examines them in the context of journalism. Its principle case study explores the National Geographic Society鈥檚 (NGS)听Future of Food听project as an example of transmedia journalism. Having many proprietary media channels, the NGS is uniquely positioned to produce expansive stories on complex issues. The case study is contextualized through the history of the organization and staff interviews about structural and philosophical changes there. The project is qualitatively analyzed for its use of media form, media channel and story expansion. The structure of the network of stories is quantitatively analyzed through social network analysis. This study contributes the first detailed network analysis of a transmedia storyworld, an examination of an early instance of transmedia journalism and initial best practices for the scalable production of it. These methods are framed through a novel use of Multimodality to explain the agency of media as nonhuman actors in Actor-Network Theory.听
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Leslie Dodson鈥擜 Foggy Desert: Equitable Information Flow For A Fogwater System In Southwest Morocco (2014)
Advisory Committee: John K Bennett, Revi Sterling
This dissertation describes the design, implementation and evaluation of a gender inclusive information system linking rural women in Agni Hiya, Morocco and water project managers from the Association Dar Si-Hmad. This research was motivated by an interest in exploring the linkages between information and communication technologies (ICT), climate change, natural resource management and women鈥檚 participation in community development in the drought-ridden A茂t Baamrane region of southwest Morocco. The research investigates the potential for mobile phones to help address communication constraints that rural Berber women face, including culture, religion, and lack of digital literacy. These issues are relevant to the study and design of a gender inclusive information system (the 鈥淔og Phone鈥�) intended to help manage a fog water distribution system that will deliver water from the Anti-Atlas Mountains to Berber villages.听