About Dr. Aguiar
Biography
I am an Assistant Professor in Industrial Design at the School of Art + Design at UIUC. I’m also an Affiliate Faculty of Informatics at the School of Information Sciences. As a founder and director of the Design, Technology, and Society Lab, I lead the collaborative effort to investigate the interaction between humans and artifacts. The loci of my research lie at the intersection of Design, Science and Technology Studies, and Human Behavior– a prominent area characterized as increasingly digital, while persistently physical, cultural, and social. My research draws on the STS, Philosophy, and Theory of Design perspectives to inform the development of technological artifacts for social and cultural change, while also promoting a critical engagement with material culture to understand their implications within society.
My research practices combine empirical investigation with critical reflection to:
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Develop and test interactive interfaces and systems manifested as environments, objects, and spaces that enhance human-agent-materials relations;
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Analyze the processes and forces that go into the production and appropriation of technological artifacts;
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Investigate the hermeneutic, existential, ethical, and moral dimensions of the human-artifact interaction, focusing on the various ways in which humans embed values in technologies and how artifacts shape human interactions with the world.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy | Design & Human Behavior.
Cornell University, College of Human Ecology – Design + Environmental Analysis (2021).
Minor: Science and Technology Studies, and Information Science
Master Science | Design Computing
University of Washington, College of Built Environment (2017).
Bachelor | Architecture & Urbanism
Universidade Estácio de Sá, School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2012).
Research and publications
Selected publications
Peer Reviewed Papers in Conference Proceedings
[9] Carlos de Aguiar, Zezhi Guo, and Yuhe Cui. 2023. TOUCH: A Multi-sensory Emotion Communication System. In Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments (PETRA '23). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 347–356. https://doi.org/10.1145/3594806.3594860
[8] Maryam Jahadakbar, Carlos de Aguiar, Arman Nikkhah Dehnavi, and Mona Ghandi. 2023. Sounds of Play: Designing Augmented Toys for Children with Autism. In Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments (PETRA '23). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 338–346. https://doi.org/10.1145/3594806.3594859
[7] Carlos de Aguiar, Trevor Pinch, and Keith Green. (2022) De-scription at early phases of artifact design. In Proceedings of the 25th International Academic Mindtrek Conference (Academic Mindtrek '22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 179–191. https://doi.org/10.1145/3569219.3569380
[6] de Aguiar, C. H.; Green, K.E.; Leshed, G; Pinch, T.; Guo, K.; Jo, Y. (2021). Designing and Building communIT. MAB20, June 28–July 02, 2021, Amsterdam and Utrecht, Netherlands. 2021 Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3469410.3469411
[5] Xu, Tong; Dewey, Clara; Vira, Amil; de Aguiar, C. H.; Yoon, JungKyoon. (2019). Erglove: an ergonomic solution for wrist injury prevention. IASDR 2019 Conference, at Manchester, UK.
[4] de Aguiar, C. H., Leshed, G., Bernard, A., McKenzie, J., Andrews, C., Green, K. (2018). CoDAS, a Method for Envisioning Larger-Scaled Computational Artifacts Connecting Communities. IEEE Universal Village, Boston USA.
[3] Bernard, A., de Aguiar, C. H., Green, K. (2018). Model for a Rigid, 3D Mechanism Inspired by Pop-Up Origami, and its Application to a Re-configurable, Physical Environment. IEEE CASE, at Munich, Germany.
[2] Verma, S., Gonthina, P., Hawks, Z., Nahar, D., Brooks, J., Walker, I., Wang, Y., de Aguiar, C. H., Green, K. (2018). Design and Evaluation of Two Robotic Furnishings Partnering with Each Other and Their Users to Enable Independent Living. Pervasive Health, at New York, USA.
[1] de Aguiar, C. H., Fateminasab, R., Frazelle, C., Schott, R., Wang, Y. Wooten, M., Green, K., Walker, I. (2016). The Networked, Robotic home+ Furniture Suite: A Distributed, Assistive Technology Facilitating Aging in Place. IEEE CASE 2016, At Fort Worth, Texas, USA, Volume: pp. 1067-1072
Peer Reviewed Journals
[2] Zhiyu, S.L., Koh, H.P., Aguiar, C. et al. Could Socially Interactive Architectural Robotics Promote Restorative Environments?. Int J of Soc Robotics (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-023-01040-x
[1] Carlos de Aguiar, Gilly Leshed, Trevor Pinch, Keith Green. (2022) ‘Evaluation of communIT, a Large-scale, Cyber-physical Artifact Supporting Diverse Subgroups Building Community’. Journal of Smart Cities and Society, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 165-178, 2022. DOI: 10.3233/SCS-220007
Book Chapter
[1] Aguiar C.H.A., Green K.E. (2020) CommunIT Building. In: McCrickard D.S., Jones M., Stelter T.L. (eds) HCI Outdoors: Theory, Design, Methods and Applications. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45289-6_12
Peer Reviewed Papers for Workshop and Late-Breaking Session
[7] Carlos de Aguiar, Cindy Su, Jennifer Gaw, Weiheng Huang, Kennedy Walker, and Yexin Lu Lu. 2023. Nurturing Eco-Consciousness: The Journey of the EcoMorph Guardian in Shaping Tomorrow's Stewards. In Proceedings of the 2023 Symposium on Learning, Design and Technology (LDT '23). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 119–122. https://doi.org/10.1145/3594781.3594804
[6] Cui, Yuhe; Guo, Zezhi; Wang, Yuxin; Peng, Xiangzhou; Aguiar, Carlos; Park, Joon. (2022). A Multi-sensation Interaction Device that Communicates Emotions. The 18th International Conference on Intelligent Environments (IE2022)
[5] de Aguiar, C. H. (2018). transFORM -- A Cyber-Physical Artefact Augmenting Social Interaction in Residual Public Spaces. TEI 2019 Proceedings, Graduate Student Consortium, at Temper, USA.
[4] Choueiri, M., Duffy, S., Guria, S., McCarthy, C., Moure, P., Todalbagi, A., Wang, Y., de Aguiar, C. H., Green, K. (2018). Can Interactive Systems Be Designed for Conviviality? A Case Study. DIS 2018 PWiP, at Hong Kong, China.
[3] de Aguiar, C. H., Green, K. (2018). transFORM - A Cyber-Physical Environment Increasing Social Interaction and Place Attachment in Underused, Public Spaces. DIS 2018 PWiP, at Hong Kong, China.
[2] de Aguiar, C. H., Bernard A., Green, K. (2018). EnAct – A Cyber-Physical Environment Increasing Social Interaction and Place Attachment in Underused Outdoor Spaces. CHI 2018, HCI Outdoors Workshop, at Montreal, Canada.
[1] de Aguiar, C. H. (2016). EnAct. A Responsive, Cyber-physical Architecture as Social Activator of Informal Gathering Spaces in the City. archi-Doct Journal, Transformable Architecture, 7th edition.