Alina is a PhD student in the HCI/HF program. She works in the CHIL (Computer-Human Interaction Laboratory) under Dr. Mike Byrne. She received her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University, and her Master's degree in HCI/HF from Rice University in 2024. Prior to grad school, she worked for the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) 711th Human Performance Wing, and she continues to conduct research with the AFRL alongside her dissertation research. Her research interests include computational cognitive modeling, decision-making, and information operations, with a focus in the cognitive mechanisms that drive belief formations and revisions. In her free time, Alina enjoys taking naps, crocheting, analyzing films/TV shows, and ignoring her ever-growing collection of to-read books in favor of wandering around bookstores.

Victoria Helmer is a second-year master's student in the Human-Computer Interaction and Human Factors program at Rice University. She earned her undergraduate degree in anthropology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. Her experience includes digital accessibility and content remediation, working with engineers, project managers, and cybersecurity analysts to implement accessibility improvements and CMS training. She's also really interested in medical human factors—specifically how we can build safety and usability into medical device design from the start. In her free time, she enjoys running (having recently completed her first half-marathon!), as well as reading and gaming.

Keerthana is a second-year master's student in the Human-Computer Interaction and Human Factors program at Rice University. She earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Business from Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts in India. Her interests include healthcare human factors, and she is especially interested in understanding how people think and make decisions. She is developing a growing interest in research and how it can be used to better understand and improve people's experiences with technology and healthcare systems. Outside of school, she enjoys reading, especially philosophy and psychology, playing guitar, learning languages, and exploring new places.

Alejandra is a third-year PhD student in the Human Factors and Human-Computer Interaction program. She works in the CHIL (Computer-Human Interaction Laboratory) lab under Dr. Mike Byrne. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Texas Tech University. Her main research interest is in medical human factors, and she is currently working on a surgical training project. Outside of the lab, she enjoys eating, watching series and movies, and hanging out with friends.

Shababa Matin is a Ph.D. candidate in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) & Human Factors Program at Rice University, advised by Dr. Philip Kortum at the HFR Lab. She received a joint undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering and Visual Arts from Brown University and a master's degree in Bioengineering Innovation and Design from Johns Hopkins University, where she went on to lecture in Biodesign. Before joining her Ph.D. program, she was a Human Factors Research Fellow at the Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies. Her academic interests include leveraging human-centered methods to optimize medical innovation and workflows so that they are effective, safe, and intuitive. In her free time, she enjoys painting, Latin social dances, and spending time with her cat. 

Eshe is a first-year master’s student in the Human-Computer Interaction and Human Factors program at Rice University. She earned her undergraduate degree in Cognitive Sciences and Psychology at Rice University. Her research interests include transportation, aerospace, and assistive technologies. She conducts independent research on time-to-collision estimation in Dr. Patricia DeLucia’s Perception lab. She also works as a student researcher in the User Experience office at Fondren library. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, dancing, thrifting, and trying new baking recipes. 

Coming soon - applications open in September!

Dr. Philip Kortum is a Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Rice University. He received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994 and his Masters in Industrial Engineering from Northeastern University in 1990. His primary interests are in the research and development of highly usable systems in the medical, voting, and mobile computing domains and in the characterization of measures of usability and usable systems. Prior to joining Rice University, he worked for over 15 years in the defense and telecommunications industry, where he researched and helped field award-winning user-centered systems. He is the author of over 100 publications, and currently holds 53 patents, with contributions in hardware design, image quality and user interfaces. He is the PI of the Human Factors Lab. In addition, he is recognized as a distinguished Fellow of both the National Academy of Inventors, as well as the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society!