Volunteer Spotlight

SIGCHI relies on the contributions of volunteers in order to achieve its mission. The Volunteer Spotlight serves to profile some of the many volunteers who donate their time to SIGCHI.

SIGCHI Ambassadors

SIGCHI Ambassadors are volunteers from around the world who spread the word about SIGCHI’s mission and members’ activities across the globe. They regularly provide content on what is going on in a specific part of the world, share exciting news by translating them from the local language to English, so it can be shared on a global scale through the SIGCHI social media channels.

There are currently 30 active SIGCHI Ambassadors. Six ambassadors will be profiled in each spotlight.

Bindi Upadhyay I look at design as a means of bringing the latest research into the society. In that spirit, I strive to design products that are simple and intuitive to use. I pursued my bachelor’s and master’s in Engineering Design at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT M). Currently, I am a UX Designer at Eindhoven University of Technology. As an ambassador, I intend to spread SIGCHI’s research contributions, technological developments, information on upcoming conferences to HCI enthusiasts worldwide, particularly in India. I would also like to highlight the developments from India on a global platform.

Muhammad Zahid Iqbal I am a Pakistani ICTD Expert and HCI Researcher. My area of research is Human Computer Interaction, Human centered Design, Artificial Intelligence and Global Development. I earned a MS Computer Science with specialization in HCI and ICTD from the Information Technology University, Lahore, Pakistan. I have extensive expertise in educational tech, health information systems, accessibility technologies and user evaluations. I am an associate of International Development Innovation Network (IDIN), MIT and Microsoft BizSpark. During my career, I worked in Punjab Youth Commission and Pakistan Youth Parliament as a contributor for Global Development.

Leonel Morales I think HCI is the most humane field among Computer Sciences. The place where humans meet computers tells a valuable story about who we are, what we are capable of and how machines can help us. That insight has led my work for many years doing research and teaching. As a result I have published papers in conferences on HCI, usability, computer science, development, and education. Others are waiting to discover this wonderful field. They just don’t know it exists. I want to be the ambassador with the mission to introduce them to it.

Dmitrijs Dmitrenko I am a PhD student in Informatics at the University of Sussex. I am doing research in the field of HCI, with a special focus on olfactory interaction in automotive context. This interest arose through my experience in the automotive industry, where I spent four years before starting my PhD. I did a MSc in Visual Computing at the University of Rostock (Germany) and BEng in Computer Science at Riga Technical University (Latvia). I am fluent in four languages (Latvian, Russian, German, and English) and I am looking forward to use my HCI expertise, networking, and language skills in promoting SIGCHI around the world, especially in Eastern Europe, where HCI researchers are often not that active on the international stage.

Ling Weay Ang I am particularly interested in exploring and developing web-based system interaction techniques that transcend the barrier between human and computers, rendering more natural and intuitive interaction. As a student member of ACM and SIGCHI ACM, I love being presenter and volunteer reviewer for ACM SIGCHI conference as well as sharing the knowledge and information that I learned through workshops and Symposium through social media. The ambassador work is very flexible, perfect for the early career researcher and professional like me to get insight into how the SIGCHI organization work besides create awareness about the SIGCHI community, global activities and knowledge society.

Ali Hussain I have seven years of experience in social and behavior change communication with focus on ICTs and mobile health. I hold a Masters in Health Communication on a Fulbright scholarship and I am currently a doctoral student in the College of Communication, Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University. I have five years of experience working with USAID and Save the Children on mother & child health (MCH) projects in Pakistan. My PhD is funded by USAID’s Feed the Future project at Michigan State specializing in Gender and International Development. I am passionate about user-centric solutions to design and implement theory-guided social development interventions.

Past Volunteer Spotlights
May 2017 Volunteer Spotlight