People

Faculty

D. Yvette Wohn, Associate Professor in Information Systems, NJIT (https://people.njit.edu/faculty/wohn or yvettewohn.com)

Dr. Wohn is the director of the Social X Lab whose 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, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, 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, Faculty, 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, Assistant Research Professor, 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.

Graduate Students

Azadeh Naderi

Azadeh is a Ph.D. student and research assistant at NJIT. She has an MBA and a BS degree in Electrical Engineering as well as professional experience as a software engineer and system developer. Her research is mainly in the field of HCI and User Experience (UX) using both qualitative and quantitative methods as well as statistical programming. Her current research is focused on content moderation, digital patronage, social virtual reality and virtual worlds. 

Research Associate

Hongyang Zhou

Hongyang just graduated from NYU with a BS degree in Applied Psychology last December and is applying to grad programs in HCI and Quantitative Methods for Social Sciences. She joined Social X Lab in May 2022 and worked with Dr. Cai on the “Hate Raids on Twitch” project. Since then, she became very interested in user research. She hopes to gain more experience in user experience on social media and delve into the humanistic and societal aspects of technology. 

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Diana Bravo

Diana is currently a senior majoring in Information Technology with a minor in Human Computer Interaction. She joined the Social Interaction Lab to learn more about user experience research. She is interested in the relationship between humans and technology and the impacts of social media. She hopes to expand her knowledge and gain more experience in UX research.

Michael Joel De Leon

Michael Joel De Leon is an undergraduate Information Technology major at NJIT specializing in Web Applications with a minor in Design of the User Experience. He is an aspiring designer with a passion for doing work that will one day impact the world around us for the greater good. Michael’s interest in user experience design drives him to pursue knowledge and expertise in user research to understand better how technology affects its users.

Mohammad Azaharul Islam

Mohammad Azaharul Islam is a senior student at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, pursuing a major in Web & Information Systems and a minor in Data Analytics. With a keen interest in emerging technologies, Mohammad is eager to gain practical experience as a research assistant in the Social Interaction Lab. This semester, he is excited to delve into the future of metaverse concerts and digital patronage platforms. Determined to make the most of his time in the lab, Mohammad is focused on expanding his knowledge and honing his analytical skills.

Nina LaMastra

Nina is a senior undergraduate Business and Information Systems major with a Human-Computer Interaction minor at NJIT. Her studies have focused on internet communities, such as that of Twitch viewers and of international fandom ARMY. Through research, she also hopes to develop her professional and analytical skills.

Ariela Ponti

Ariela Ponti is a junior majoring in Human Computer Interactions at NJIT. Ariela is interested in human-centered design and UX research. Ariela is also interested in relationships between users and video game design, with a focus in research. 

Lab Alumni (participated two or more semesters & graduated)

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).

Past Students 

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, Jirassaya Uttarapong, Ross Bonifacio

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