James Pierce

James Pierce is an Associate Professor of Interaction Design and Chair of the Design Division at the University of Washington, as well as the director of the Material Interactions Lab. His research focuses on understanding and addressing complex societal challenges through design, with a particular emphasis on the privacy, security, and ethical dimensions of Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence-related technologies. His methodologies include design as inquiry, participatory research, and speculative exploration. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and has received multiple best paper awards at top conferences such as ACM SIGCHI, CSCW, and Ubicomp. James Pierce’s research is also recognized with the NSF CAREER Award, highlighting his outstanding contributions to privacy and trust in smart home devices.

• 2020–Present·University of Washington·Associate Professor
  • Responsible for teaching and research in interaction design, leading the Material Interactions Lab, and conducting design research on privacy and security.
• 2024–Present·NSF SECURE Center·National Design Lead
  • Participates in National Science Foundation projects focusing on the design research of privacy and trust in smart devices.

• Unknown·Carnegie Mellon University·Ph.D.
  • Research Area: Human-Computer Interaction and Design Research