Emily Q. Wang (she/they)

As a member and collaborator of various disabled communities, I do research and teach about accessibility in higher education.

I am an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Oberlin College. As a Human-Computer Interaction researcher, I combine my computer science training and social science research methods to study, design, and develop systems to improve accessibility with disabled professionals. My process includes (1) questioning the norms of workplaces that were not built with disabled people in mind, (2) understanding how technology impacts accessibility in daily activities and longer-term professional success, and (3) co-designing assistive-adaptive technologies with disabled collaborators to support their participation and goals.

I have taught courses about Computer Science and Human-Centered Design at Oberlin College and Northwestern University. In addition to implementing active learning strategies, I infuse human-centered design concepts and reflections about the social stakes of technology in my courses throughout the Computer Science major.

I completed my PhD, advised by Anne Marie Piper, in Technology & Social Behavior, a joint doctoral program in Communication Studies and Computer Science at Northwestern University. During my graduate studies, I completed the Teaching Certificate Program at Northwestern's Searle Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning. Before that, I completed my B.S. in Engineering at Olin College.

You can find my CV here.

Current Research Projects

I am in the process of setting up my research group, lab space, and collaborations with people inside and outside the college. I expect I will be recruiting research assistants during/after Fall 2024. If you are an Oberlin student interested in human-computer interaction and design research, please sign up for the CSCI newsletter and stay tuned for the department's research application form at the start of the semester!

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Accessibility in Academic Writing Tools and Practices

Focusing on dyslexic workers in higher education as a case study, we are investigating the shortcomings of existing social and technical support for dyslexic writers and exploring new designs for writing tools.

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Museum Game Design

In collaboration with the Allen Memorial Art Museum, we are reimagining museum engagement with playfulness in mind. This involves an iterative process of brainstorming, prototyping, and playtesting games that are designed with museum artwork or are designed to be played in the museum setting.

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Collaborative Learning in Computer Science and Math

We are studying group dynamics that emerge with active learning strategies used in Computer Science and Math courses. This is a multi-institution collaboration with Professor Jessica Oehrlein.

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Joint Human-Computer Interaction Reading Group

We are reading research papers from various Human-Computer Interaction venues, then discussing their contributions and methods in weekly meetups. I co-organize this reading group with Professor Molly Feldman.

Publications and Presentations

Publications

Conferences and Invited Publications

  • Paths of Allyship: Communication Preferences and Adapting Qualitative Research Methods with Disabled Bodyminds. Co-authored with Kathryn E. Ringland. Position paper for Nothing About Us Without Us: Investigating the Role of Critical Disability Studies in HCI at the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) 2020 (Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic).
  • Investigating Accessibility in the Writing Process with Dyslexic Adults. Presentation at the University of Chicago Disability Studies Workshop. November 13, 2019.
  • Investigating Accessibility in the Writing Process with Dyslexic Adults. Doctoral Consortium at the ACM Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS) 2019 Conference. October 26-30, 2019.
  • Co-located Collaborative Accessibility. Workshop presentation and prototype demonstration at Enabling and Understanding Embodied STEM Learning Workshop at the Computer Supported Cooperative Learning (CSCL) 2017 Research Conference. June 18, 2017.
  • Co-located Collaborative Accessibility in Deaf and Hearing Teams. Presentation at the University of Chicago Disability Studies Workshop. May 19, 2017.
  • Open Style Lab. Presentation at the Boston Museum of Science. October 24, 2015.
  • Open Style Lab Final Showcase. Presentations and prototype demonstrations at the MIT Museum. August 15, 2015.

Selected Other Publications

Teaching

Oberlin College

  • CSCI 361: Game Design
    Instructor of Record, Department of Computer Science
  • CSCI 327: Inclusive Technology Design
    Instructor of Record, Department of Computer Science
  • CSCI 150: Introduction to Computer Science
    Instructor of Record, Department of Computer Science

Northwestern University

  • COMP_SCI 397 / LRN_SCI 309: Inclusive Making
    Curriculum Developer & Teaching Assistant, Departments of Computer Science & Learning Sciences
  • COMM_ST 159: Social Web Programming
    Co-Instructor, Department of Communication Studies
  • COMM_ST 159: Introduction to Hardware in Our Everyday Lives
    Co-Instructor, Department of Communication Studies

Contact