News
- I'm excited to attend CSCW in November to present a paper on designing to support hard conversations online. I'm excited to connect with folks at the conference.
Email: baughan at cs.uw.edu
Amanda Baughan
Hello! I am a recent PhD graduate of UW Computer Science & Engineering, advised by Alexis Hiniker. My work focuses on human-computer interaction and social computing, drawing from a variety of disciplines including user-centered design and social psychology. The purpose of my work is to design, evaluate, and build systems to support users' connection with themselves and each other on sociotechnical platforms.
Currently, I'm wrapping up a project on a messaging platform as a culmination of three years of research on hard conversations online, including conflict and other emotionally fraught discourse. I'm implementing novel design features to increase connection and understanding during these critical moments. The beginnings of this work have been featured on NPR.
Separately, I'm passionate about understanding social media use through the lens of dissociation. I'm interested in how design and peer networks can disrupt dissociation to support users' goals for time spent on social media. This work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Scientific American.
Previously, I worked as a UX Researcher at AI2's Semantic Scholar, improving human-AI interaction on research feeds. Before that, I spent two years working at Google, and I returned recently as a Research Intern to evaluate user trust in voice assistants. This work received an honorable mention at CHI '23.
When not working, you can find me surfing, hiking, or re-watching Twilight.