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HCDE @ UW

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Human Centered Design & Engineering @uofwa. Our students and faculty advance systems and tech to build accessible, sustainable and prosperous futures.

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To kick off the new school year, we’re opening our first-ever HCDE pop-up swag shop!

Now through October 14, shop HCDE apparel and gear, including hoodies, crewneck sweatshirts, T-shirts, hats, travel mugs, and tote bags.

The shop is only open for a limited time, so place your order by October 14.

Shop at the link in our bio or visit uw-hcengineering.liftoff.shop. HCDE Swag Shop : Open through Oct. 14 by @hcdeuw

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18 days ago

We’re excited to share our new video, set to be featured at the ASEE annual conference later this month!
Take a peek inside HCDE to learn about our collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to engineering education.

🎥 View the full video at hcde.uw.edu/about taken in Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) by @hcdeuw

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a year ago

What is HCDE?

That’s a question many friends and family members ask when they attend an HCDE graduation.

To help answer it, members of the Class of 2026 created this short film, which premiered during this year’s Graduation & Awards Ceremony.

Created by master’s graduate Anita Nwude-Chenge with support from @hcdegsa and @uwhcdesa, the video offers a student perspective on what makes Human Centered Design & Engineering unique. by @hcdeuw

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4 months ago

Put your human-centered design skills into practice on a civic challenge 💡

On October 30, UW students are invited to join Civic by Design, a day-long design jam hosted by HCDE in partnership with UW’s Civic Health Initiative and the Evan’s School. The event will explore a central question: Why might young people feel that voting isn’t worth their time?

Participants will hear from experts, work with peers to explore the experiences and barriers that shape how young people engage with democracy, and develop low-fidelity prototypes for new approaches to civic participation.

The design jam is open to all UW students, across majors and programs. Lunch is included.

October 30 | 8:15 a.m.–5 p.m. | UW Seattle
Register at the link in our bio.

🏛️ Civic by Design is part of HCDE’s 2026–27 annual theme, Public, exploring human-centered design and engineering in public life. taken in University of Washington by @hcdeuw

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11 days ago

The new school year is underway, and HCDE students are already finding time to connect outside the classroom.

Last weekend, the Graduate Student Association (@hcdegsa) brought students together for a picnic at Gas Works Park, and this week HCDE MS students gathered at Optimism Brewing for a start-of-the-year mixer.

We look forward to many more opportunities for students across HCDE to build community and get to know one another throughout the year! by @hcdeuw

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17 days ago

HCDE’s autumn Research Speaker Series kicks off next Thursday, October 1, with Professor Kate Starbird and a new area of her research: the online conversation surrounding women’s professional basketball.

Before her academic career, Starbird played professional basketball. Now, she’s bringing that experience together with her research on social media for a new talk, “Outrage Bait and Culture Wars: Visual Analysis of Social Media Posts Featuring WNBA Players.”

Starbird will share early insights from ongoing research examining how WNBA players are represented through images on Facebook and Instagram, and how those representations connect to broader dynamics of politics, race, sport, and gender.

📅 Thursday, Oct. 1, 4:30–5:20 p.m.
📍 Sieg Building, room 134
🔗 Series details link in bio by @hcdeuw

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23 days ago

Over the past year, HCDE students partnered with Rainier Valley Food Bank in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood to explore how the organization could strengthen the experience of its clients and its connections with the surrounding community.

Through three Directed Research Groups and a bachelor’s capstone project, students spent time at the food bank and in the surrounding neighborhood, learning from clients, staff and community members. Their work led to redesigned shopping signage and client information materials, along with a capstone outreach campaign designed to help more neighbors learn about RVFB and feel welcome using its services.

The work is already having an impact. RVFB has implemented several student recommendations, including changes to its grocery store signage and layout, and is using the capstone team’s work as a roadmap for future community outreach.

The student work was created by: Directed Research Group students Zohra Butter, Jordan Cheung, Haneen El-haj, Zahra Hassan, Vivian Li, Erzhen Wei, and Selome Girma, led by HCDE Emeritus Teaching Professor Andrew Davidson; and capstone students Angel Torres-Puga, Justis Peppin, Wenyi Tsai, and Michelle Nguyen, led by HCDE Teaching Professor Alan Marks, with support from Rainier Valley Food Bank staff and community members.

Find the full story at the link in our bio. taken in Rainier Valley Food Bank by @hcdeuw

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2 months ago

Next in our 2026 Capstone Spotlight series: PatentQuest 🎲

What if learning how to file a patent felt more like game night than a legal seminar?

HCDE bachelor’s students Oliver Chen, Peter Yang, Siheng Li, and Varun Hariharan partnered with @uwcomotion to create PatentQuest, a fantasy-themed board game that transforms the patent filing process into an interactive tabletop experience.

Players take on the role of innovation managers, making strategic decisions to help inventors navigate the patent process, overcome bureaucratic hurdles, and protect their ideas.

For many first-time inventors and startup founders, the patent system can be difficult to navigate, and simple mistakes can have lasting consequences. By turning complex legal concepts into engaging game mechanics, PatentQuest creates an approachable, low-risk way to learn how intellectual property works before the stakes are real.

View the team’s project poster and full video at the link in our bio. The team stands with their board game prototype in the CoMotion office taken in Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) by @hcdeuw

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2 months ago

Next in our 2026 Capstone Spotlight series: Aviation Professional Networking ✈️

How do you help pilots build professional connections without asking them to adopt yet another app?

HCDE bachelor’s students Erika Ni, Elle Yamamoto, Hannah Huang, and Sophia Mai partnered with Jeppesen ForeFlight to explore how the ForeFlight app could better support professional networking and job discovery for general aviation pilots.

By studying pilots’ existing social behaviors and workflows, the team reimagined ForeFlight’s Events experience to make it easier to discover aviation events and connect with professional opportunities—all within a platform pilots already know and trust.

Because ForeFlight is used daily both in and out of the cockpit, integrating event discovery and networking into the app has the potential to lower barriers to participation while strengthening the broader aviation community.

Explore the team’s video, poster, and process book at the link in our bio. taken in Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) by @hcdeuw

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3 months ago

🚆 What will Washington’s transportation system need to look like by 2050?

HCDE researchers partnered with the UW Mobility Innovation Center to create Mobility Washington 2050, an interactive platform that helps people explore how projected population growth could affect roads, transit, airports, bridges, and freight movement across the state.

The tool brings together complex transportation data into interactive maps and visualizations that can help communities, planners, policymakers, and the public better understand the decisions that lie ahead.

Read more and explore the interactive dashboard at the link in our bio. The research team at Mobility WA 2050 launch event taken in University of Washington by @hcdeuw

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3 months ago

Next in our 2026 Capstone Spotlight series: Improving Trip Planning for King County Parks 🌲

Before heading to a park, people often want to know what to expect, from accessible trails and amenities to transportation options and other details that can shape their visit.

Bachelor’s students Alisha Bose, Kiefer Law, Lena Trieu, and Nupur Gokar partnered with King County Parks to redesign the Backyard FunFinder, a website that helps people discover parks and plan their visits.

Through surveys, interviews, and multiple rounds of usability testing, the team created a more user-friendly experience that makes it easier to find important information before arriving at a park.

By improving access to details like accessibility features, amenities, and transportation options, the redesigned tool helps visitors make informed decisions about which parks best meet their needs while supporting King County Parks’ goal of making outdoor recreation more accessible and welcoming for everyone.

View the team’s full video and project poster at the link in our bio. Team stands with their project display at the HCDE Capstone Showcase taken in Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) by @hcdeuw

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3 months ago

Next in our 2026 Capstone Spotlight series: mmmm: An interpretable voice cloning system that helps creators understand and shape their AI voice 🎙️

Created by Master’s students Mingjin Zhang, Gahui Yun, Soyun Moon, and Alex Chung, mmmm is an interpretable voice cloning system that helps content creators understand, evaluate, and shape how their voice is captured and reproduced by AI.

The system provides clear feedback throughout the voice cloning process, helping users evaluate results, refine their cloned voice, and adapt it to different creative goals. By making AI voice cloning more understandable and controllable, mmmm gives creators greater confidence as they incorporate these tools into their workflows.

Explore the team’s Figma site at the link in our bio. The team stands with their project poster taken in Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) by @hcdeuw

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3 months ago