I explore vulnerabilities that exist for diverse populations, why they exist, and persist, and explore how they may be addressed or exploited further with technology.  I also research vulnerabilities in education, design education, product design research, methodology, and workflow and explore methods, tools, and educational strategies for eliminating exclusion, bias, marginalization, and harm in product design, product development, and research.

I am deeply interested in the ethics of human-centered design and how we improve the education of ethics, designing for diverse groups and cultures, understanding of underrepresented populations, and inclusion of underrepresented and various groups and cultures in the design, product development, HCD, HCI, UX, engineering, and innovation fields.   What new methodologies and frameworks are needed to support discipline-specific engineering to incorporate inclusive design methods focused on the multiple cultural intersections of society?  How are novel technologies designed and what practices, methods, workflows, and tools are needed to ensure that product design keeps human rights central to its goals?  

Human Development and Capabilities

Human development, human rights, improvements in design and engineering education, and the impact of innovation and technology on society, are catalysts for my research, education, and design practice. I am a member of the Human Development & Capability Association, a group that researches and supports human development and capability. Questions I explore in this space are, As technology plays an increasing role in our lives and weaves its way into education, how can we ensure that technology is designed so that it works toward the goal of human development in education? What factors must we consider? What are the vulnerabilities, and how can they be overcome and not further exploited?

Ethics Considerations in Product Design and Product Development Lifecycles

As technology becomes more prevalent, it increasingly affects society in evolving and often unpredictable ways. While HCI, HCD, Innovation, and Engineering are growing, novel technologies are emerging, lacking tools, processes, methods, and workflows that safeguard human rights, dignity, and development. My work in this space explores the challenges of research, design, and engineering in novel environments and explores vulnerabilities and opportunities to strengthen these areas.

Ethics in Research

Whether it be human-centered design, human-computer interaction, User Experience, Engineering, or even Innovation, there exists a critical need to better understand the needs of diverse populations or risk harm, marginalization, injustice, and/ or exploitation through poor, irresponsible design. My research explores the need for more robust research tools that will enable practitioners to uncover, understand, and purposefully articulate the vulnerabilities, histories, and cultural dispositions of diverse populations in various product development environments.