Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE)

Originally from Beijing, China, HCDE undergraduate student Selena Liu came to the UW seeking the freedom to explore different fields before choosing a path.

Since arriving at UW, she has woven together interests in design, global health, mental health research, entrepreneurship, dance, and the arts, creating an undergraduate experience that reflects the interdisciplinary nature of Human Centered Design & Engineering.

Read more about Selena's journey and the opportunities she's found across UW:

International Student Spotlight: Selena Liu Driven by curiosity and possibility, Selena Liu is showing that undergraduate education can be about more than choosing a single path.

Congratulations to the HCDE Class of 2026!

This year's HCDE Graduation & Awards Ceremony recognized the accomplishments of our graduating students, honored outstanding award recipients, celebrated Professor Emerita Cecilia Arago with the 2026 Mikey Award, and welcomed Ram Shankar Siva Kumar as our graduation speaker.

View the full ceremony recording and more of our recap here:

HCDE celebrates the Class of 2026 at Graduation & Awards Ceremony Highlights from the 2026 HCDE Graduation & Awards Ceremony, held June 12 at the University of Washington.

As we gear up to celebrate the HCDE Class of 2026, consider making a gift in honor of this year's graduates.

The Class of 2026 selected the HCDE Fund for Excellence, a flexible fund that helps the department invest in opportunities that enhance student learning, research, and community.

Support from this fund helps make possible:

+ Guest speakers and industry experts in HCDE classrooms
+ Student conference travel and professional development
+ Community events and experiential learning opportunities
+ Innovative teaching and research initiatives

A gift of $20.26—or any amount meaningful to you—helps create new opportunities for future HCDE students.

Human Centered Design & Engineering Class Gift Chosen by the Class of 2026, the HCDE Fund for Excellence supports student-driven opportunities and the future of the HCDE community.

We are proud to recognize Aleenah Ansari (BS HCDE '19) as the recipient of the 2026 HCDE Outstanding Alumni Award. Congratulations, Aleenah!

As a writer, creative strategist, entrepreneur, and community advocate, Aleenah has built a career centered on storytelling, connection, and creating opportunities for others. Through her writing, speaking, and community engagement, she amplifies voices that might otherwise go unheard.

One piece of advice she shared with current HCDE students is: "If the opportunity doesn't exist yet: create it. Build things that feel wholly yours and share the process as well as the final product."

She also reminds students that learning to pitch yourself is a skill, and that resilience grows every time you put yourself out there.

We're proud to celebrate Aleenah's accomplishments and the impact she continues to make through her work.

HCDE recognizes Aleenah Ansari with 2026 Outstanding Alumni Award HCDE has named writer, creative strategist, and entrepreneur Aleenah Ansari (BS '19) the recipient of the 2026 Outstanding Alumni Award in recognition of her work elevating voices and building community through storytelling.

Over the past year, HCDE junior Taylor Bradshaw has helped introduce younger students to engineering through outreach, mentorship, and hands-on learning experiences.

She worked with middle school students through HCDE’s Alternative Spring Break program, helped coordinate HCDE’s Engineering Discovery Days activities for thousands of K–12 students visiting UW, and will soon mentor incoming engineering students as a First-year Interest Group (FIG) Leader.

For Bradshaw, these experiences have reinforced one of the central ideas she’s learned in HCDE: good design starts with understanding people.

Read more about how outreach and mentorship are shaping her HCDE experience:

Bringing Human Centered Design & Engineering to Washington students From teaching middle school students in northeastern Washington to coordinating Engineering Discovery Days activities at UW, Human Centered Design & Engineering student Taylor Bradshaw is helping inspire the next generation of engineers through outreach and mentorship.

From AI and accessibility to transportation, sustainability, healthcare, and interactive technologies, HCDE students are showcasing a wide range of human-centered projects this spring.

Join us for a week of open student showcases featuring presentations, prototypes, demos, and capstone projects from across our courses and degree programs.

Events are open to students, alumni, friends, prospective students, and the public.

Explore the full showcase schedule and learn more:

Explore Student Projects at HCDE’s Spring 2026 Showcases HCDE ivites the community to a week of student showcases (June 2–8) featuring interactive demos, prototypes, presentations, and capstone projects from across HCDE courses.

Join us for the 2026 Human Centered Design & Engineering Capstone Showcase on Wednesday, June 3 from 4–6 p.m. in the UW HUB Ballroom!

Explore 50+ projects from HCDE students addressing real-world challenges across AI, healthcare, accessibility, sustainability, transportation, entertainment, and more.

This year’s projects were developed in collaboration with organizations including Microsoft, Uber, Google Cloud, Sony, Sound Transit, Bloodworks Northwest, King County Parks, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Seattle Art Museum, UW partners, and many more.

Meet student teams, experience interactive demos, and connect with the HCDE community as students showcase months of human-centered research, design, and engineering work.

Capstone Showcase Previous  Nex The University of Washington's Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering presents: 2026 HCDE Capstone Showcase Wednesday, June 34 - 6 p.m.UW Husky Union Building, Ballroom Save to your calendar Explore more than 50 projects from Human Centered Design & Engineering students ta...

The HCDE 2026 Class Gift Campaign is now open! 🎓

This year’s graduating class selected the HCDE Fund for Excellence, a flexible fund that helps our department respond quickly to opportunities that enrich student learning, research, and community.

Gifts to the fund support experiences like:
+ Guest speakers and industry experts in HCDE classrooms
+ Student conference travel and professional development
+ Community events and learning experiences
+ Innovative teaching and research initiatives

Join us in celebrating the Class of 2026 with a gift of $20.26 or any amount meaningful to you. Every gift helps support future HCDE students.

together.uw.edu

Earlier this week, HCDE welcomed Dr. Laura Forlano of Northeastern University for the 2026 Judith Ramey & Stephanie Rosenbaum Distinguished Lecture, 'Designing Consequences: On Living Well with Machines.'

Drawing on her own experiences as a “disabled cyborg” and nearly two decades of research spanning design, critical disability studies, and critical computing, Forlano challenged audiences to think differently about AI, human-machine relationships, disability, care, and the future of technology. Her talk also explored larger questions about who gets to define what it means to be human, and who we are becoming alongside the technologies we create.

Read more and watch the full lecture recording:

2026 HCDE Distinguished Lecture with Laura Forlano Dr. Laura Forlano delivered HCDE's 2026 Distinguished Lecture, Designing Consequences: On Living Well with Machines. Drawing on her own “disabled cyborg” life and nearly two decades of research spanning design, critical disability studies, critical computing, and critical pedagogy, Forlano explo...

Last week we welcomed faculty, students, alumni, collaborators, and partners to the 2026 Human Centered Design & Engineering Research Showcase.

The event featured lightning talks, research posters, and interactive demos spanning topics such as digital safety, mental health interventions, accessibility, AI literacy, public infrastructure, online communities, and wearable technologies.

The showcase also introduced the community to new HCDE Assistant Professor Emily Tseng, whose research explores digital safety and technology-mediated harms.

View our recap and find recordings of faculty lightning talks here:

HCDE Research Showcase brings community together around ongoing work The 2026 HCDE Research Showcase brought together researchers, students, alumni, and community partners for an evening of lightning talks, research posters, and interactive demos highlighting ongoing work across the department.