Informatics Seminar Series
Fall Quarter 2022

Abstract:
My research interrogates how social norms are co-constructed and envisions ways that technology can enhance the agency of people with disabilities. In this talk, I describe my community-based research that reveals ways technology can help alleviate social, emotional, and sensory tensions between neurodiverse dyads. I show how applying a participatory sensemaking lens to collaboration can help us design technology to scaffold the group and better mitigate socio-technical burdens on neurodivergent people. I close by identifying future opportunities for alternative communication technologies and universal design for learning.

Bio:
Dr. Annuska Zolyomi is an Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Washington (UW) Bothell. She teaches human-computer interaction, user centered design, and software engineering in the Computing & Software Systems Division. She earned her Ph.D. in Information Science from UW as well as a M.S. in Human-Centered Design and Engineering. Her deep knowledge of HCI, accessible technology, and design has been recognized by the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) and the ACM Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS). Prior to embarking on her Ph.D., Zolyomi worked at Microsoft as an accessibility product strategist with cross-company influence on technology innovation. She earned four patents in HCI and received an award for translating user research into the redesign of the end-user accessibility settings in the Windows operating system.