Alexandra Ion

Alexandra Ion is an Assistant Professor at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, with courtesy appointments in the Robotics Institute and Mechanical Engineering. She directs the Interactive Structures Lab, which studies physical interfaces that respond to user needs and combines computation, fabrication, and robotics in responsive materials and intelligent structures. Her research spans human-computer interaction, physical AI, adaptive physical user interfaces, robotic materials, inverse design, and digital fabrication, with applications including assistive devices, rehabilitation, architecture, smart homes, and everyday activities. Personal website · Research lab

Before joining CMU, she was a postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zürich and completed her Ph.D. at the Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam, with a thesis titled Metamaterial Devices. CV · HPI alumni profile

• January 2021–Present·Carnegie Mellon University·Assistant Professor, Human-Computer Interaction Institute
  • Courtesy appointments in the Robotics Institute and Mechanical Engineering; directs the Interactive Structures Lab.
• May–December 2026·Carnegie Mellon University·Interim Associate Director of HCI Undergraduate Programs
• March 2019–November 2020·ETH Zürich·Postdoctoral Researcher in Computer Graphics
  • Also held a research stay at ETH Zürich from September 2018 to January 2019; this is separate from the postdoctoral appointment.

• July 2013–April 2019·Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam·Dr. rer. nat. (Ph.D.)
  • Thesis: Metamaterial Devices; research in human-computer interaction and metamaterial devices.
• October 2010–November 2012·University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Hagenberg·MSc
  • Thesis: Uncovering moving off-view objects on large interactive displays.
• October 2006–July 2009·University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Hagenberg·BSc
• May–October 2012·University of Waterloo, Canada·Research stay

• Developable Metamaterials: mass-fabricable metamaterials made by laser-cutting elastic structures. Lab project
• Constraint-Driven Robotic Surfaces: human-scale constraint-driven robotic surfaces; recipient of the UIST 2023 Best Demo Award. Lab project
• Towards Unobtrusive Physical AI: physical AI research that augments everyday objects with intelligence and robotic movement. Lab project
• NSF CAREER Award (2025); ACM CHI 2026 Best Paper Award; ACM UIST 2025 Best Demo Honorable Mention. CV

Key facts were checked against the personal website, CMU HCII Faculty, current CV, Interactive Structures Lab, and the official HPI alumni profile. Verified: 2026-09-23. LinkedIn returned an access failure and Google Scholar returned 403 in this check; both are retained because the personal website links them directly, without claiming that their internal profiles were read.