From desktops and laptops to phones and tablets to virtual reality, wearable devices, the Internet of Things, and robotics, technologies based on computing are all around us. The field of human-computer interaction (HCI) studies how we interact with these technologies, and how those technologies in turn shape our world. HCI researchers seek to improve how humans interact with technology, to understand the societal impact of technologies, and to invent new technologies that alter the way we perceive and navigate the world around us.

UChicago CS includes many researchers and lab groups that investigate these angles using interdisciplinary, user-centered, and physical-computing approaches. Faculty and students design more usable privacy and security tools, improve how users interact with robots, programming languages, and IoT devices, and make technologies more inclusive for marginalized and underserved populations. Other groups design wearable devices and user interfaces that augment human abilities and create more seamless integration between the virtual and natural environments.

Labs & Groups

CANON (Computing for Anyone) Lab

Diana Franklin
Researching innovations in computational thinking education with an emphasis on equity and inclusion for all underrepresented populations.

Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) Lab

Sarah Sebo
Developing robots that help people by engaging them in intelligent, intuitive, and purposeful social interactions.

SUPER (Security, Usability, & Privacy Education & Research) Group

Blase Ur
Focused on data-driven methods to improve online security and privacy and improving interaction for IoT and machine learning systems.

3DL

Rana Hanocka
A computer graphics collective at UChicago pursuing innovation at the intersection of 3D and Deep Learning.

Network Operations and Internet Security (NOISE) Lab

Nick Feamster
Develops data-driven systems that derive insights from network traffic and explores how network traffic can reveal insights into human behavior.

Amyoli Internet Research (AIR) Lab

Marshini Chetty
Working to make the Internet more trustworthy and inclusive, drawing on human-computer interaction, usable privacy and security, ubiquitous computing, and...

Human-Computer Integration Lab

Pedro Lopes
Engineering interactive devices that integrate directly with the user’s body as the natural succession to wearable interfaces.

Chicago Human + AI (CHAI) Lab

Chenhao Tan
Developing synergy between humans and artificial intelligence through a better understanding of human behavior and human interaction with AI.

AxLab – Actuated Experience Lab

Ken Nakagaki
Designing shape-changing and reconfigurable technologies that invite people to actively engage and interact with a computationally-enhanced physical world.

Related Faculty

Marshini Chetty

Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science

Ravi Chugh

Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science

Nick Feamster

Neubauer Professor of Computer Science

Diana Franklin

Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science

Rana Hanocka

Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, College
Alex Kale

Alex Kale

Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science

Pedro Lopes

Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science

Ken Nakagaki

Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science

Sarah Sebo

Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science

Chenhao Tan

Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Data Science

Blase Ur

Neubauer Family Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science

News & Events

UChicago CS News

New Prototypes AeroRigUI and ThrowIO Take Spatial Interaction to New Heights – Literally

Apr 18, 2023
UChicago CS News

Computer Science Displays Catch Attention at MSI’s Annual Robot Block Party

Apr 07, 2023
UChicago CS News

UChicago, Stanford Researchers Explore How Robots and Computers Can Help Strangers Have Meaningful In-Person Conversations

Mar 29, 2023
UChicago CS News

Asst. Prof. Rana Hanocka Receives NSF Grant to Develop New AI-Driven 3D Modeling Tools

Feb 28, 2023
Young students on computers
UChicago CS News

UChicago and NYU Research Team Finds Edtech Tools Could Pose Privacy Risks For Students

Feb 21, 2023
UChicago CS News

Assistant Professor Chenhao Tan Receives Sloan Research Fellowship

Feb 15, 2023
Two students looking at a wearable device
UChicago CS News

High School Students Find Their Place in Computing Through Wearables Workshop

Jan 13, 2023
UChicago CS News

UChicago CS Researchers Create Living Smartwatch to Explore Human-Device Relations

Dec 12, 2022
UChicago CS News

The Computing Pipeline: A Foundation for Diversifying Computer Science

Nov 28, 2022
man browsing Netflix
UChicago CS News

Trending Now: How Netflix Chills Our Free Will

Nov 14, 2022
UChicago CS News

UChicago AI Summit Examines Promise and Concerns for Science and Society

Nov 01, 2022
UChicago CS News

UChicago Research Tests Whether Robots or Humans Are Better Game Partners

Oct 18, 2022
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