Northeast HCI Meeting

Conference to host NE Region HCI Researchers Virtually and at Carnegie Mellon University May 8-10, 2024

pittsburg_vk

Registration

To register for the Northeast HCI meeting please fill out this Google Form.

Schedule

     
May 8 Morning Doctoral Colloquium
  Afternoon Doctoral Colloquium/Works in Progress
  Evening Optional Outing
May 9 Morning Paper Sessions 1 & 2
  Lunch  
  Afternoon Paper Sessions 3 & 4
May 10 Morning Paper Sessions 5 & 6
  Lunch  
  Afternoon Paper Sessions 7 & 8
  Evening Optional Outing to Museum and Brewery

For a draft schedule, please refer to this link

Logistics

Please see this guide for information on travel to Pittsburgh, additional hotel recommendations, and other local tips: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MkLFgvxeBz0LNB92T3rLqCjx2eKmXtyl3l3sWLIn9ZE/edit#slide=id.p

Hotels

Hampton Inn University Center

3315 Hamlet Street

Hilton Garden Inn - University Place

3454 Forbes Avenue

Note: CMU guests can use the code 5195130 for a 15% discount when booking online. Select ‘Special Rate’ when checking out and enter the code into the ‘Corporate Account’ field.

Residence Inn Pittsburgh Oakland/University Place

3341 Forbes Ave

Wyndham Pittsburgh University Center

100 Lytton Avenue

More options in nearby neighborhoods or Downtown can be found here!

Covid Safety*

The organizing committee is dedicated to provide the best possible conference experience for all attendees. We are suggesting that all in-person attendees take a rapid home COVID-19 test on the first morning they attend the event to protect the health and safety of all involved. If the morning of is not feasible, please ensure this is as close to the event time as possible. If you cannot secure a test in time for the event, please contact the organizers and we can try to assist.

Masks will be available to participants upon request. Air purifiers will also be located in primary event rooms.

* Adapted from CSCW Northeast 2023

Organizing Team

Background

In light of recent discussions surrounding CHI 2024, there has been careful consideration of our involvement this year. This has been driven in part by the conversation started by Josiah Hester, a Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) professor of Interactive Computing and Computer Science at Georgia Tech, who has criticized the conference’s disregard for the rights and sovereignty of Native Hawaiians and locals in the wake of the Maui fires, and urged researchers to limit their involvement in the event (see https://www.chiinhawaii.info/).

Some of our students have likewise expressed concerns about submitting to and/or attending the conference in person—wishing to show solidarity to Kānaka Maoli requests to halt over-tourism and academic travel to Hawai’i. However, they are also mindful of the professional implications, including missed opportunities for in-person networking, limited practice presenting to academic audiences, and reduced visibility of their research.

In response to these concerns, a mini-conference is being organized in May 2024. The event will be hosted physically at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA and virtually for remote participation. The primary goal is to spotlight the work of graduate students, pre-tenure faculty, and precariously employed academics from our region, especially research that will be presented virtually at CHI or has been withheld. Anticipate slightly extended paper presentations, each with a dedicated faculty discussant. Additional activities may include networking opportunities, paper workshop sessions, and unconference sessions (specifics to be determined).

This endeavor is seen as a means to not only alleviate potential hardships associated with reduced participation in CHI 2024 but also as an opportunity to experiment with more accessible and sustainable regional conferences—a concept beginning to be explored by the HCI community (e.g., CSCW Northeast 2023). Our hope is that such regional conferences, if effective, can occur periodically in different places to promote sustainable academic practices into the future.