{"id":549662,"date":"2023-02-15T10:42:15","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T15:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=549662"},"modified":"2023-02-24T07:32:46","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T12:32:46","slug":"human-computer-interaction-lab-research-mentorship-549662","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/human-computer-interaction-lab-research-mentorship-549662\/","title":{"rendered":"Lab experience your first year in college? Yes."},"content":{"rendered":"

With faculty and graduate student mentorship, undergraduate researchers thrive in the Rochester Human-Computer Interaction lab.<\/h2>\n

Stela Ciko \u201925 chose to attend the University of Rochester<\/a> because of its reputation as a Tier 1 research institution.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew it would offer a lot of research opportunities in whatever field I chose to study, and I wanted research to be a big part of my undergraduate experience,\u201d says the computer science major.<\/p>\n

She was able to start substantive work in the Rochester Human-Computer Interaction<\/a> lab the summer after her first year.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have been very impressed with the quality of undergraduate students and the commitment of our graduate students to mentor them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Ehsan Hoque<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

That\u2019s not unusual at the lab, known as ROC (\u201cRock\u201d) H-C-I. Housed in the Department of Computer Science<\/a>, it has given students like Ciko invaluable opportunities to apply computer science to projects that directly help people.<\/p>\n

Sammy Potter \u201925 didn\u2019t think he would get a chance work in a research lab for at least a couple of years. Then, during his first year at the University, he met Masum Hasan through the Google Developer Student Club<\/a>. Hasan, a PhD student in the ROC HCI lab, was looking for someone with experience in 3D technology, something Potter had. \u201cI jumped at the opportunity,\u201d Potter says.<\/p>\n

Since then, \u201cI\u2019ve had a great experience as an undergraduate hire,\u201d he adds. \u201cROC HCI is a very friendly community, and I feel respected and that I have an equal voice.\u201d The lab also helped him see new possibilities, giving him exposure to \u201ca new field that I might not have considered otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

ROC HCI seeks a diverse representation of undergraduates<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Rochester Human-Computer Interaction lab is co-led by associate professor Ehsan Hoque<\/a> and assistant professor Zhen Bai<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hoque, who joined the University in 2013, gained international recognition after his PhD thesis<\/a> at MIT demonstrated for the first time how humans could improve their face-to-face interpersonal skills with a virtual assistant. He has received multiple awards, and more than $9.6 million as a principal investigator to support a broad range of projects.<\/p>\n

Bai, who joined the University in 2018, earned a PhD at Cambridge University and did postdoctoral work at Carnegie-Mellon. Her research includes developing learning technologies to support AI (artificial intelligence) literacy for K\u201312 students and teachers, assistive technology for deaf child communication, and human-AI collaboration in social reasoning.<\/p>\n

Both place a high priority on bringing a diverse representation of undergraduates into the lab. There are multiple reasons for doing so, they say.<\/p>\n