For Indigenous People’s Day 2023, we are launching the beta version of the Thámien Ohlone AR Tour. The tour tells the story of our historical campus from the perspective of the Ohlone people, with the goal of revealing hidden histories, spurring visitors towards critical reflection, and inspiring visions of more just future relations.

The project has been almost a year of hard work by Cinthya Jauregui (BS ’22, MS ’24), Tiffany Nguyen (BS ’26), Mohan Raj Chandrasekar (MS ’24), Sarah Hazel Sallee (BA ’25), Liam A’Hearn (BS ’24), Dominic Woetzel (BS ’25), and Professors Kai Lukoff (Computer Science and Engineering), Amy Lueck (English), Lee Panich (Anthropology), and Danielle Heitmuller (Art) and of course our partners at the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.

We’re especially proud that this is a truly interdisciplinary effort: faculty and students from at least eight different departments at SCU are represented: Computer Science and Engineering, Anthropology, English, Art, Music, Philosophy, Communications, and Engineering Management.

• Date: Monday, Oct 9 (Indigenous People’s Day 2023)
• Time: 10am-4pm
• Location: University Fountain at SCU

If you are on campus, please stop by the fountain to try it out and share your feedback.

Join us as a PhD student in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Lab at Santa Clara University under the direction of Prof. Kai Lukoff, in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Our location in the Silicon Valley offers unique opportunities to engage with — and also critically examine — the work of leading tech companies. 

You can join us in the Fall, Winter, Spring or Summer Quarter. The application form and deadlines are here.

Potential research areas

Our lab has active projects in several research areas. If you join our lab as a PhD student, you can grow one of these existing research areas or propose your own.

• Digital wellbeing beyond screentime tools – Researching, designing, and developing digital interfaces to give users a sense of control over how they spend their time online. This work moves beyond the current set of screentime tools to think more deeply about how we can create systems that respect human attention. This builds on a line of research that was awarded the 2023 Outstanding Dissertation Award by ACM SIGCHI, the leading organization of human-computer interaction researchers.
• Augmented reality (AR) storytelling – In one of our initial projects, we are collaborating with Native American partners to create an immersive AR tour showcasing the past, present, and future of the Ohlone Tribe on Santa Clara University campus (read more).
• Research tools to understand mobile apps – Researchers in many fields from business to mental health are studying the apps on mobile app stores. However, scraping and analyzing data from mobile app stores is challenging for non-technical researchers and the process is undocumented. How can we create tools and guidelines that help researchers do this important work?

Requirements

• Interest in human-computer interaction
• Motivation to research, design, and develop technologies with a social impact
• Experience with web technologies (e.g., HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
• Computer science B.S. degree required, M.S. degree preferred (this PhD position is within the Department of Computer Science and Engineering)
• See also program information and admissions information

Recommended preparation

A Ph.D. is a major life decision. Before you apply, I recommend you do some background reading. I also recommend you perform this exercise: 3 Papers I Wish I’d Written. When I was considering a PhD, it helped me clarify my own goals. It might also help you.

Interested?

Please email Kai Lukoff with your CV and a few sentences on why your skills and interests are a good fit for our HCI research lab. If you have completed the 3 Papers I Wish I’d Written exercise, please share that too. We can then schedule a time to speak.

Update: As of May 2024, we do not currently have funding to support postdoctoral researchers. However, we are applying for funding opportunities and hope to offer this position again in the future!

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Join us as a post-doctoral researcher in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Lab, Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Santa Clara University. Our location in the Silicon Valley offers unique opportunities to engage with — and also critically examine — the work of leading tech companies.

Potential research areas

Our lab has active projects in several research areas. As a postdoc, you would be expected to both lead your own project(s) and contribute to existing projects in our lab.

• Digital wellbeing beyond screentime tools – Researching, designing, and developing digital interfaces to give users a sense of control over how they spend their time online. This work moves beyond the current set of screentime tools to think more deeply about how we can create systems that respect human attention. This builds on a line of research that was awarded the 2023 Outstanding Dissertation Award by ACM SIGCHI, the leading organization of human-computer interaction researchers.
• Augmented reality (AR) storytelling – In one of our initial projects, we are collaborating with Native American partners to create an immersive AR tour showcasing the past, present, and future of the Ohlone Tribe on Santa Clara University campus (read more).
• Research tools to understand mobile apps – Researchers in many fields from business to mental health are studying the apps on mobile app stores. However, scraping and analyzing data from mobile app stores is challenging for non-technical researchers and the process is undocumented. How can we create tools and guidelines that help researchers do this important work?

Requirements

• Ph.D. in human-computer interaction or a related field
• Motivation to research, design, and develop technologies with a social impact

Position description

• Initial term of one year with the possibility of extension
• This position is based in Santa Clara, California
• Applicants from backgrounds traditionally marginalized or underrepresented in the field are especially encouraged to apply
• Estimated salary range is $56,000 – $68,000

Interested?

Please email Professor Kai Lukoff with: (1) a few sentences on why your skills and interests are a good fit for our HCI research lab; (2) your CV; and (3) at least one sample publication to show relevant experience. Inquiries are accepted year round.