The CHCSS Early Career Research Awards Committee has selected Dr. Sara Nabil as the recipient of one of the two awards this year. Since joining Queen’s University as an Assistant Professor in 2020, Dr. Nabil has made exemplary contributions across all criteria of the CHCSS ECR Award, including scholarly impact, research vision, social benefits and contributions towards equity, diversity and inclusion. Dr. Nabil has an outstanding publication record, with an impressive breadth of scholarly outputs published in top quality venues. She is currently pursuing a novel and exciting research program in Digital Fabrication and Interactive Everyday Objects that prioritizes the use of these technologies for achieving social impact in improved well-being and democratization of tech. This research program is well-supported by nearly $900K in funding including an NFRF-Exploration grant, for which Dr. Nabil is PI. Dr. Nabil is also inspiring the next generation of researchers through the establishment of a vibrant research lab, collaborations with non-profits, and numerous outreach activities with underrepresented groups.
Dr. Sara Nabil is an Assistant Professor of HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) at Queen’s School of Computing, head of the iStudio Lab, and an alumna of Newcastle University (UK). Prior to that, she worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Carleton University and had 8+ years of experience in the Software industry. Her research integrates interaction design with interior, fashion, and product design using soft sensors, smart fabrics, microcontroller circuits, e-textiles and smart materials that are malleable, shape-changing and colour-changing. Her publications and patents innovate techniques and digital fabrication methods that facilitate the design of everyday computational objects, wearables, surfaces and interactive spaces in calm and ubiquitous technology. Her work aims to support the living quality of marginalized groups such as refugees, people with dual-identities, and people with physical disabilities. She has carried out in-the-wild fieldwork in public spaces, design studios, galleries, museums and refugee camps, and has written on Human-Building Interaction (HBI), Interactive Architecture, and Interactive Interior Design, or what she coined as ‘Interioraction’. Her current work explores the interface between physical computing, wearables, interiors, art, and architecture to support people during self-isolation. In 2016, Sara was awarded the ‘Best Design Award’ by the Great North Museum, and in 2021, she was shortlisted for the international Interactions Design Award. Sara’s interactive prototypes have been displayed at a number of exhibitions worldwide including the London Design Festival (UK).