CMU Human-Computer Interaction Institute

Sights from day 3 in downtown Pittsburgh 👋 🤖

Keep an eye out for our Human-Computer Interaction Institute researchers, alumni, and friends at IROS this week, including demos from the Interactive Structures Lab, Future Interfaces Group, and Augmented Perception Lab.

Intelligent Robots & Systems attendees, we hope you'll stop by the Carnegie Mellon University table (Booth 931) today. Just look for the Tartan.

PS - Can't wait to be back in this building for

📸: thanks, FIG Lab!

Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University Griffin School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University

HCII's graduate programs are now accepting applications. Are you ready to apply?

Join us for one of our upcoming info sessions to learn more!

** CMU SCS Graduate Programs Fair **
📆 Wednesday, October 7, 2026
🕛 12:00-4:00 p.m.
📍TCS Hall Atrium (4665 Forbes Ave)

HCII programs participating: PhD · Master of Human-Computer Interaction (MHCI) · Master of Science in Learning Engineering (MSLE, formerly METALS)

** HCII Virtual Information Sessions **
📆 September 28 - Accelerated MHCI (AMHCI)
📆 October 14 - MSLE
📆 November 5 - MHCI
📆 November 11 - MHCI

Visit our Event calendar for program-specific info and registration.
🔗 https://hcii.cmu.edu/events

Application deadlines vary by program.
🔗 hcii.cmu.edu/apply-now

Happy 44th birthday :-)

Yesterday we celebrated our friend :-) Smiley's birthday with Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science professor emeritus and OG typer of the sideways smile, Scott Fahlman!
Thanks for signing shirts and sharing smiles.

Why the party for a :-) ?

Back in the early 80s, some posts on CMU's online message boards were taken seriously when they were intended to be funny.

Then Fahlman entered the chat.

"I propose the following character sequence for joke markers:
:-)
Read it sideways."

To read more about the origins of :-) on the CMU b-boards, visit
cs.cmu.edu/smiley

As the saying goes, "The user is not like me." And in this case, the user is an astronaut. Then what? How might we design those interfaces? 👩‍🚀🚀

A team of Carnegie Mellon students was one of 10 invited to compete in the NASA Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (SUITS) Challenge at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The NASA SUITS Challenge encourages student teams to develop user interface solutions for future spaceflight needs.

This year's CMU team, Team Resnik, aimed to reduce an astronaut's cognitive load while operating the rover.

Learn more about the team's experience in this story from the Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science. Team Resnik was advised by HCII Associate Professor Nikolas Martelaro.

🔗 Navigating the Moon: https://hcii.cmu.edu/news/navigating-moon

Join us Friday for our first HCII Seminar Series of the semester as we welcome Lorrie Cranor, Director and Bosch Distinguished Professor in Security and Privacy Technologies at CyLab.

🎙️ Talk: "Making Security and Privacy More Usable: CHI 2026 Lifetime Research Award Talk"
"For the past three decades, I have worked at the intersection of security, privacy, and usability, exploring how to make systems that better meet the needs of the people who use them. In this talk, I’ll take a whirlwind tour through my research on usable access control, privacy decision making, phishing and scams, security warnings, passwords and authentication, privacy notices and choices, and the art of privacy. Along the way, I’ll talk about my personal winding path, highlight lessons learned, unexpected pivots, and contributions of some of the many students and collaborators who helped shape this work. I’ll also reflect on my efforts to influence products, standards, and public policy."

📆 Date: Friday, September 4, 2026
🕑 Time: 2:00 pm
📍 Location: NSH 3305 + livestream
🔗 Details: https://hcii.cmu.edu/news/event/2026/09/hcii-seminar-series-lorrie-cranor

We hope you'll make the HCII Seminar Series a regular part of your Friday afternoons this semester. Check the HCII website for week-to-week details. See you there!

Seeing our participants—educators, students, researchers—tackle big learning challenges was nothing short of inspiring! We thank everyone who made the 26th annual LearnLab Summer School so special.

What is the LearnLab Summer School? This 5-day event features lectures, discussions, and hands-on laboratory sessions, where participants create technology-enhanced learning experiments and intelligent tutoring systems.

Paired with our expert mentors and state-of-the-art tools (including the Open Learning Initiative OLI development environment, Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools, and DataShop), attendees present their projects to the rest of the community on Friday, the final day of the summer school.

Huge thanks to our faculty, staff, and amazing mentors for their support of this long-standing CMU program. And a special shout out to the 2026 cohort for finishing the week with new skills, connections, and innovative projects that will shape how we teach and learn.

Until next year, learners!

From smart tutoring systems to AI in the classroom, dozens of HCII researchers debuted work at the Festival of Learning last month, highlighting new ways technology can help every student learn better.

The 2026 Festival of Learning featured three unique conferences — Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED), Learning at Scale (L@S), and Educational Data Mining (EDM) — and one shared focus on the future of learning.

A few highlights from the HCII community include:
- Professor Vincent Aleven delivered a keynote at AIED
- University Professor Ken Koedinger received an AIED Lifetime Achievement Award
- and one paper received an honorable mention award at EDM “Improving Hybrid Human-AI Tutoring by Differentiating Human Tutor Roles Based on Student Needs”
- plus demos, workshops, and more!

Visit the story to learn more about our highlights at the 2026 Festival of Learning
🔗 https://hcii.cmu.edu/news/cmu-festival-learning-2026

From smart tutoring systems to AI in the classroom, dozens of HCII researchers debuted new work at the Festival of Learning last month, highlighting new ways technology can help every student learn better.

The 2026 Festival of Learning featured three unique conferences — Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED), Learning at Scale (L@S), and Educational Data Mining (EDM) — and one shared focus on the future of learning.

A few highlights from the HCII community include:

- Vincent Aleven delivered a keynote at AIED

- Ken Koedinger received an AIED Lifetime Achievement Award

- one paper “Improving Hybrid Human-AI Tutoring by Differentiating Human Tutor Roles Based on Student Needs,” received an honorable mention award at EDM

- plus student demos, workshops, and more!

Go learn more about our colleagues' work at the Festival of Learning at the News link in our bio.

Hats off to the MHCI Class of 2026! 🎓✨
The 1-year Master of Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University is both a marathon and a sprint. Students, thank you for showing up every day and bringing so much energy, curiosity and empathy to our community this year.

Wicked Problems lie ahead, but we know you are ready to tackle them.
Just Thinking Aloud here, the future of HCI looks bright thanks to you all.
Oh - Yes, and - we are so proud of you! Congratulations and keep in touch, !

📸: MHCI students, faculty and staff at the farewell party yesterday