The Designing for People Research Cluster concluded in April 2024. The information provided here is for archival purposes.
The DFP Challenge
Our society’s dependency on computationally intensive systems, in our lives and work, has become absolute. Today’s 20 billion connected “devices” (computational elements that permeate the systems, tools and media that we interact with on a daily basis) reached 30 billion in 2020. In the 2010-2020 decade, the world’s data grew by 50x and spending on IOT technologies will reach $6Tr.
These systems have potential for enormous net benefit for humanity: we gain power and connectedness from access to smart buildings, medical and assistive robots, connected vehicles, health informatics and behavioural support, and education tools. However, they also involve complexity, nuances, and intractable constraints, that can lead to deep inequity, alienation, and harm. Their developers are rarely prepared for the messy human-facing side of system design. Furthermore, academic research that supports society’s most vulnerable often becomes isolated within the academic community, lacking viable commercial pathways.
Mission
UBC's Designing for People Research Cluster aims to address complex human-facing design problems by accelerating creativity at the nexus of social and technical problem-solving. We promote intensely interdisciplinary teamwork and methods, strive to understand the diverse abilities, needs, and values of users, create high-value resources for DFP researchers, and find new paths to societal impact by working closely with partners - users, domain experts, communities and companies.
History
DFP began in 2003 as a peer network (HCI at UBC) primarily in Computer Science and Engineering. With higher critical mass, researchers from a broader cross-section of UBC (including the Information School, Architecture, Nursing and Psychology) renewed the concept in 2013 as a seminar series to foster connections for research in interactive technologies.
In 2016, 10 core DFP faculty identified common needs around knowledge translation practices, consolidating our fragmented graduate training programs, and external visibility; and began to organize and grow. We applied and received a CREATE training grant, and launched our new DFP grad training program in September 2017.
DFP was recognized in 2017 as one of the first UBC VPRI-funded research clusters and given support to expand its activities. We organized into several complementary pillars of activity (below), and set out to develop them. We identified three research themes aligning research and societal urgency, to achieve common cause through joint aspirations, collaboration, shared resources, and methodological cross-fertilization. Our initial themes were designing for diverse and marginalized communities, for patients and healthcare practitioners, and for students and educators.
Today DFP has 30 core faculty members and more "on deck", as well as a large, active and highly entangled student community. Our disciplines range from Computer Science, Nursing, and Mechanical Engineering to Psychology, Information Studies, and Occupational Therapy.
Meet Our Multidisciplinary Team
Organization and Initiatives
DFP is organized into five mutually reinforcing pillars of focus: Community, Grad Training, Research, Translation and Partnerships - illustrated in the regions of this website. These are supported by events that include our DFP@UBC seminar series, our CREATE grad training program, research and translation stimulus initiatives, and ongoing outreach to our partners. We are always experimenting - just ask to learn more about any of these pillars or with your ideas.
Key Leadership Roles
Cluster Leadership and Oversight
| DFP Cluster General Director | Karon MacLean (Computer Science) |
| DFP Cluster Co-Director | Liisa Holsti (Occupation Science & Occupational Therapy) |
| DFP CREATE Co-Director | Luanne Sinnamon (iSchool) July 2021 Ian Mitchell (Computer Science) Sep - Dec 2020 |
Seminar Steering Committee
| Chair | Dongwook Yoon (Computer Science) Sep 2020 - present Liisa Holsti (Occupation Science & Occupational Therapy) Sep 2018 - Aug 2020 |
| Member | Ben Mortensen (Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy) |
| Member |
Soodeh Ahani (Electrical and Computer Engineering) |
| Member | Aline Silva (DFP Research Facilitator) |
| Member | Rana Haji Mohammadi (DFP Cluster Coordinator) |
| Member | Clarice Yeung (Admin & Communications Assistant) |
| Past Members | Jocelyn McKay (DFP Research Facilitator) Kerry Neil (DFP Admin) Zahra Fatemi (DFP Admin) Meredith Mitchell (DFP Comms Assistant) Sabrina Hauser (DFP Postdoc) Julia Bullard (Information School) Naznin Virji-Babul (Physical Therapy) Mike Van der Loos (Mechanical Engineering) |
DFP CREATE Graduate Training Program (AY 2022-2023)
| CPSC 544: DFP Fundamentals Instructor |
Karon MacLean (Computer Science) |
| CPSC 554K: DFP Project Instructor |
Antony Hodgson (Mechanical Engineering) |
| Faculty Consultants | Luanne Sinnamon Stephanie Glegg & Liisa Holsti Suzanne Huot Tim Oberlander, Katelynn Boerner & Karon MacLean |
Previous Leadership & Committees
| Cluster Director | Ad Hoc Advisors |
| Karon MacLean (Computer Science) |
Prof. James Landay (Computer Science, Stanford University) Dr. Barry Po (VP: AI Solutions, Universal mCloud, UBC CS Alumni) |
CREATE Management Committee (now retired)
| Chair | Karon MacLean (Computer Science) |
| Member | Luanne Sinnamon (Information School) |
| Member | Kosta Beznosov (Electrical & Computer Engineering) |
| Member | Sabrina Hauser (DFP Postdoc) |
| Coordinator | Kerry Neil |
CREATE Graduate Training Program Curriculum Development
| Chair & DFP Fundamentals Representative | Joanna McGrenere (Computer Science) |
| CREATE Management Representative | Karon MacLean (Computer Science) |
| DFP Project Instructor Representative | Mike Van der Loos (Mechanical Engineering) |
| Member | Sabrina Hauser (DFP Postdoc) |
| Coordinator | Kerry Neil |
DFP Core Course Instructors (AY 2020-2021 and 2021-2022)
| CPSC 544: DFP Fundamentals | Heather O'Brien (iSchool) |
| CPSC 554K: DFP Project | Laura Ballay Antony Hodgson (Mechanical Engineering) (2021-2022 only) |
| DFP Project Mentors: | Luanne Sinnamon, Tim Oberlander, Katelynn Boerner, Karon MacLean, Suzanne Huot, Stephanie Glegg |
DFP Core Course Instructors (AY 2019-2020)
| CPSC 544: DFP Fundamentals | Joanna McGrenere (Computer Science) Leila Aflatoony (DFP Postdoc) |
| CPSC 554K: DFP Project | Mike Van der Loos (Mechanical Engineering) Dongwook Yoon (Computer Science) Sabrina Hauser (DFP Postdoc) |
| DFP Project Mentors: | Robert Xiao, Alan Kingstone, Mike Van der Loos, Luanne Sinnamon |
DFP Core Course Instructors (AY 2018-2019)
| CPSC 544: DFP Fundamentals | Joanna McGrenere (Computer Science) Leila Aflatoony (DFP Postdoc) |
| CPSC 554K: DFP Project | Mike Van der Loos (Mechanical Engineering) Dongwook Yoon (Computer Science) Eric Meyers (Information School) Leila Aflatoony (DFP Postdoc) |
| DFP Project Mentors: | Tamara Munzner Joanna McGrenere Karon MacLean |