SOCIAL X LAB

Faculty

D. Yvette Wohn, NJIT (https://people.njit.edu/faculty/wohn or yvettewohn.com)

Dr. Wohn is an associate professor in information systems and the director of the Social X Lab. Her research area is in human-computer interaction (HCI) and computer-mediated communication. She studies the characteristics and consequences of social interactions in online environments such as livestreaming, esports, gaming, and social media. Her main projects examine 1) content moderation, online harassment and the creation/maintenance of online safe spaces, 2) social exchange in digital economies & digital patronage (creator-supporter dynamics), and 3) news consumption via social media.

Affiliated Faculty

Seong Jae (SJ) Min, Pace University

Dr. Min is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Pace University’s New York City campus. He teaches and researches journalism and political communication, and is the author of a series of books investigating the role of journalism in American society. He is particularly interested in news consumption behaviors and social interactions online as they relate to political participation and democratic engagement.

Mashael Almoqbel, Jubail University College, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Almoqbel is a faculty at Jubail University College, Saudi Arabia. Her research is in the area of public safety, social media, and social good. She is interested in bettering societies with HCI and communication theories. She had her Ph.D. in Information Systems at NJIT.

Jie Cai, Penn State University
(https://jc926.github.io/Jie_Cai)

Dr. Cai is an assistant research professor at Penn State University. He received his PhD from NJIT. His research mainly focuses on human-computer interaction (HCI) and computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) and explores topics related to interactive media, gaming, live streaming, and content moderation. His work has been published in premier HCI venues such as CHI and CSCW. He is excited to collaborate with highly motivated (under)graduates and learn from them. Please check his website to know his recent work and activities.

Tina Yuan, National Taiwan Normal University

Tina (Chien Wen) Yuan (PhD, Cornell University) is an associate professor of the Graduate Institute of Library and Information Studies at National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan. Her research interests include mediated interpersonal relationships, human–computer interaction, and computer-supported collaborative work. Her recent research topics dealt with health issues, social media use, and mediated collaboration, published at CHI, CSCW, or journals like Social Media + Society. She has recently explored topics in human-AI interaction.

Young June Sah, Sogang University

Young June Sah (PhD, Michigan State University) is an Assistant Professor in College of Media, Arts, and Science, at Sogang University. His research interests include psychological and behavioral effects of media technologies and their cognitive mechanisms. He has explored how people respond to virtual humans in different contexts, such as social media platforms or virtual realities.

Graduate Students

Tongxin Li

Tongxin (Lily), a first-year Ph.D. student at NJIT, holds a bachelor’s degree in Media and Information and a master’s degree in Digital Communication and Media from Michigan State University. Her research interests focus on investigating how people interact with and perceive AI technology, exploring the intersection between human behavior and emerging digital innovations. Additionally, Lily is passionate about examining the dynamics of how individuals interact with video games and social media platforms.

Research Associates

Hongyang Zhou

Hongyang graduated from Cornell Tech with an MS in Information Systems and NYU with a BS in Applied Psychology. She joined the Social X Lab in May 2022 and has since worked on projects focused on user experience on social media. She hopes to gain more skills in UX research and delve into the humanistic and social aspects of technology.

Ariela Ponti

Ariela Ponti graduated from NJIT with a B.S in Human Computer Interactions. Her research interests involve how people form relationships with chatbots and exploring the impacts of harmful communities online with hate speech rhetoric. Furthermore, she is interested in the spread of misinformation regarding women’s rights and healthcare in the online space.

Angela Arroyo

Angela Arroyo is an adjunct faculty member in NJIT’s Informatics department and a proud NJIT alum. She works in the financial services industry on financial technology products, gaining experience in QA, design, business intelligence, and product management. These roles have given her a broader perspective on the many human and technical moving parts in software development and sparked her interest in user research beyond the industry.

Undergraduate Research Assistants (alphabetical)

Tanish Bhoopathi

I am Tanish Bhoopathi, an undergraduate student majoring in Information Technology with a concentration in Cybersecurity and a minor in Finance. My academic interests lie at the intersection of technology, digital platforms, and user behavior, with a focus on building secure, ethical, and impactful technology-driven solutions. I am particularly interested in how authenticity, trust, and identity are shaped in online environments.

Ann Carlos

My name is Ann and I am a first-year Human-Computer Interaction student at NJIT. I was drawn to the field of HCI because of how increasingly relevant it is and its ability to shape future technology.  Through the Social X Lab, I hope to learn more about interaction design based on user experiences and how technology can shape our lives. I am also passionate about learning languages. In my free time, I like to learn about languages and history!

Azka Faisal

Drew Green

I am a sophomore at NJIT majoring in Computer Science. My passions include further improving my technical skills, personal programming projects, and playing trumpet. Joining the Social X Lab, I was interested in learning more about HCI and seeing firsthand the relationships people have with computers and other digital devices. HCI covers a wide variety of aspects and disciplines in society, including Computer Science. I am excited to delve deeper into user experiences with computers, highlight possible patterns in data collection, and ultimately get more practice in doing research.

Peter Ly

I’m a sophomore at NJIT, majoring in IT. I’ve always had a liking towards design and making things. I am joining Social X Lab projects to study application design and gain the experience to enhance the quality of the work I will provide, be it in the future or current day. I look forward to collaborating with other students to provide and receive insight and feedback

Aliyah Panjon

Aliyah Panjon is a junior at NJIT majoring in Digital Design on the Interactive Media track, with a minor in User Experience Design. She joined the Social X Lab to deepen her knowledge of user experience and user research. Aliyah is passionate about design, particularly at the intersection of creativity and technology. In her free time, she enjoys working on personal projects and exploring emerging trends in the design field. She is especially interested in how technology and design continue to evolve and shape the way people interact with the world.

Sucheta Pansare

I am a freshman at NJIT studying biology on the premed track. I have always been interested in social interactions, specifically psychology and sociology and their intersection with medicine and patient care in healthcare settings. I’ve taken psychology and sociology courses before that focus directly on these connections between medicine and society, and hope to keep exploring these connections through new means within the Social X Lab. In my free time, I love to draw, go on hikes, and work on photography. 

Nico Santos

Hello! I am a senior at NJIT majoring in digital design on the Interactive Media Track.  My passion is for art, and how it can blend into technology such as video games, 3D modeling, etc. My goal one day is to be a UX/UI designer, especially for video games! I’ve always admired the cool UI in these games, and wondered how did they add creativity and design with practical use. I decided to join the Social x Lab because I want to learn more and broaden my current knowledge on technology, and how it affects design, but also behavior! I am excited to get experience, but also learn more from my fellow researchers!

Karthik Vatsal Surisetti

Mariela Hidalgo Valverde

Mariela Hidalgo Valverde is a first-year architecture student at NJIT. She is interested in exploring how architecture shapes the way people feel and experience spaces, combining her curiosity about human behavior with design. She is also passionate about social media and is interested in research related to online behavior and user experiences.

Mahati Yerramilli

Mahati Yerramilli is a sophomore at NJIT, majoring in Human-Computer Interaction. She is joining the Social X Lab due to her interest in UX research and technology’s impact on human behavior. Mahati is eager to contribute to the lab’s projects and gain hands-on experience through conducting surveys and interviews. She looks forward to learning not only from doing work but also from her fellow researchers

Past students

Hannah Repuyan, Sanavi Kothari, Mohammad Azaharul Islam (2023 fall), Jirassaya Uttarapong (2023 spring), Ross Bonifacio (2023 spring), Lucy Feng (2022 summer), Anthony Lechner (2022 summer), Aashka Patel (2022 spring), Reesha Gandhi (2022 spring), Sarah Ryu (2022 spring), Jonathan Tan (2022 spring), Jie Cai (2022 spring), Alan Cortes (2021 summer), Jordan Van Zyl (2021 spring), Masaho Shimobayashi (2020 spring), Anmol Jaswal (2020 spring), John Scott Siri (2020 spring), Peter Eskander (2020 spring), Peter Jough (2019 fall), Ankit Mittal (2019 spring), Juan Rios (2018 fall), Temilade Afolabi, Basma Abukwaik (2018 spring), Victor Chue, Anchita Komalchan Likhar, Indraneel Kulkarni (2017), Atisha Poojari (2016), Leiping Gong (2016), Calvin Allemand (2016), Emma Washington-Freeman (2016), Han Wang (2015), Rohit Kadam (2015), Turki Alelyani, Nidhish Dave, Erick Sanchez, Yu Cao, Mary Schneider, Rempee Kalia, Cassio Maciel Leal, Roseli Andrion, Felipe Schiquetti, Mousa Ahmadi, Sona Patel, Kira Hoffman, Adam Spryzinski, Dhanush Sureshbabu, Yanira Morales, Lindsay Armour, James Bonilla, Kimberly Prince, Priya Rajbabu, Jack Campbell, Royer Zamudio, Angelica Braxton, Pradnya Desai, Tejas Patel, Christopher Simeone, Naitam Ghandi, Soojin Ahn, Mervyn Mathew, Jessy Martinez, Alyssa Maravilla, Fizah Fahad, Michael Wedderburn, Nick Nower, Vidhi Thakker, Meciel Guisihan, Livia Loi, Emilia Pham Ton, Hannah Cui, Samiksha Raman, Alicia Gomes, Karen Wu, Cindy Gonzalez, Allie He, Julia Sklodowska, Anupama Chakrabhavi Venkatappa, Choina Vincent, Zoobia Saifullah Syeda, Ananya Tyagi, Yihan Wang

Past Faculty/ Industry Collaborators

Louise Barkhuus, IT University of Copenhagen
Jeremy Birnholtz, Northwestern University Social Media Lab
Brian J. Bowe, Western Washington University
Caleb T. Carr, Illinois State University
Meeyoung Cha, KAIST
Eun-kyoung Choe, University of Maryland
Judith Deutsch, Rutgers University
Nicole Ellison, University of Michigan
Gerry Fluet, Rutgers University
Guo Freeman, Clemson University
Rebecca Hayes, Illinois State University
Libby Hemphill, University of Michigan
Hye-jin Kum-Biocca, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Cliff Lampe, University of Michigan
Bongshin Lee, Microsoft Research
Yu-Hao Lee, University of Florida
Wei Peng, Michigan State University
Katie Quehl, Yahoo
Rabindra (Robby) Ratan, Michigan State University