About + CV

Laura Devendorf is a design researcher who builds digital tools for communicating and negotiating with materials. Her current research is deeply engaged with weaving and weavers. Specifically, she has spent the last several years developing AdaCAD, a tool for applying the principles of computational design to the creation of woven structures. The AdaCAD project has created opportunities for her to explore how slowness, humility, and care can inform the design of digital tools and the products people use them to create. She uses these tools in her artistic practice to create strange computerized garments that commemorate labor and struggle. Her research has won several best paper awards in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and has been supported by the National Science Foundation CAREER Grant. 

Laura is an Assistant Professor of  Information Science with the at the ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado, Boulder where she directs the Unstable Design Lab. She is also affiliate faculty in the departments of Computer Science and Intermedia Writing, Art, and Performance.  She received her PhD at the School of Information at University of California, Berkeley and have bachelors degrees in computer science and studio art from the University of California Santa Barbara.

CV
Laura Devendorf
ATLAS Institute & Department of Information Science
207A, Roser ATLAS Building
University of Colorado Boulder
1125 18th St. 320 UCB
Boulder CO 80309

portfolio url: artfordorks.com
lab url: unstable.design

EDUCATION

University of California, Berkeley
PhD, School of Information with designated emphasis in New Media
Dissertation: Strange and Unstable Fabrication
Committee: Kimiko Ryokai (chair), Jenna Burrell, Rosemary Joyce

University of California, Santa Barbara
BS, Computer Science, Honors
courses: data visualization, cryptography, programming languages.

University of California, Santa Barbara
BA, Studio Art, Honors
courses: visual literacy, advanced drawing, and printmaking.

PUBLICATIONS

Laura Devendorf, Kristina Andersen, Aisling Kelliher. 2020. “Making Design Memoirs: Understanding and Honoring Difficult Experiences” To Appear In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’20).
Best Paper Honorable Mention

Shanel Wu, Laura Devendorf. 2020. “Unfabricate: Designing Smart Textiles for Disassembly”. To Appear In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’20)

Jolie Klefeker, libi streigl, Laura Devendorf. 2020. “What HCI Can Learn from ASMR: Becoming Enchanted with the Mundane” To Appear In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’20)

Clement Zheng, HyunJoo Oh, Laura Devendorf, Ellen Yi-Luen Do. 2019. “Sensing Kirigami.” In Proceedings of the 2019 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS ‘19). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 921-934. Best Pictorial Award

Laura Devendorf, Kristina Andersen, Daniela Rosner, Ron Wakkary, James Pierce. 2019. “From HCI to HCI-Amusement: Strategies for Engaging what New Technology Makes Old” In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’19). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper 35, 12 pages

Mikhaila Friske, Shanel Wu, Laura Devendorf. 2019. “AdaCAD: Crafting Software for Smart Textiles Design.” In proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’19). ACM, New York, NY, USA. ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper 345, 13 pages
Best Paper Honorable Mention

Laura Devendorf, Chad Di Lauro. 2019. “Adapting Double Weaving and Yarn Plying Techniques for Smart Textiles Applications” In Proceedings of the 2019 Conference on Tangible and Embodied/Embedded Interaction (TEI ’19). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 77-85

Jen Liu, Daragh Byrne, Laura Devendorf. 2018. “Design for Collaborative Survival: An Inquiry into Human-Fungi Relationships.” In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’18). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper 40, 13 pages
Best Paper Award

Noura Howell, Laura Devendorf, Tomás Vega Gálvez, Rundong (Kevin) Tian, Kimiko Ryokai. 2018. “Tensions of Data-Driven Reflection: A Case Study of Real-Time Emotional Biosensing.” In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’18). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper 431, 13 pages

Laura Devendorf and Daniela K. Rosner. 2017. “Beyond Hybrids: Metaphors and Margins in Design.” In Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS ’17). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 995-1000

Laura Devendorf, Abigail De Kosnik, Kate Mattingly, Kimiko Ryokai. 2016. “Probing the Potential of Post-Anthropocentric 3D Printing.” In Proceedings of the 2016 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS ’16). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 170-181. Best Paper Award

Noura Howell, Laura Devendorf, Rundong Tian, Tomas Vega, Nan-Wei Gong, Ivan Poupyrev,
Eric Paulos, Kimiko Ryokai. 2016. “Biosignals as Social Cues.” In Proceedings of the 2016 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS ’16). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 865-870.

Laura Devendorf, Joanne Lo, Noura Howell, Doris Lee, Nan-Wei Gong, Emre Karagozler, Ivan Popuyrev, Eric Paulos, Kimiko Ryokai. “‘I Don’t Want to Wear a Screen’: Probing Perceptions of and Possibilities for Dynamic Displays on Clothing.” In Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’16). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 6028-6039. Best Paper Award

Laura Devendorf and Kimiko Ryokai. “Being the Machine: Reconfiguring Agency and Control in Hybrid Fabrication.” In Proceedings of the 2015 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’15). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 2477-2486. Best Paper Honorable Mention Award

Laura Devendorf and Kimiko Ryokai. “AnyType: Provoking Reflection and Exploration with Aesthetic Interaction.” In Proceedings of the 2013 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’13). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 1041-1050. Best Paper Honorable Mention Award

EXTENDED ABSTRACTS PUBLICATIONS

Josephine Klefeker and Laura Devendorf. “Envisioning Reflective and Relaxing Design with ASMR. In the Companion Publication of the 2019 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems. (DIS Companion ‘19). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 225-229

Josephine Klefeker and Laura Devendorf. “String Figuring: A Story of Reflection, Material Inquiry, and a Novel Sensor” To appear in Proceedings of the 36th Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’18). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper LBW086, 6 pages

Laura Devendorf and Daniela Rosner. “Reimagining Digital Fabrication as Performance Art.” In Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’15). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 555-566.

Laura Devendorf and Kimiko Ryokai. “Being the Machine: Exploring New Modes of Making.” In Proceedings of the 2014 companion publication on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS Companion ’14). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 33-36.

Laura Devendorf. “Making Art and Making Artists.” In Proceedings of the 2014 companion publication on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS Companion ’14). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 33-36.

Laura Devendorf and Kimiko Ryokai. “AnyType: Creating Typography from Anything, Anywhere.” In Proceedings of the 2012 ACM Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp ’12). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 546-546.

WORKSHOPS ORGANIZED

Dorothé Smit, Alina Krischkowsky, Janne Mascha Beuthel, Bernhard Maurer, Verena Fuchsberger, Martin Murer, Manfred Tsheligi, Laura Devendorf, Bieke Zaman, Maarije Nouwen, Konstantin Aal. “Material Manifestations of Dislocation and (Re)Connection. ECSCW 2019.

James Pierce, Kristina Andersen, Andy Boucher, David Chatting, Audrey Desjardins, Laura Devendorf, William Gaver, Tom Jenkins, William Odom, Anna Vallgårda. “Doing Things with Research thru Design: With What, with Whom, and Towards What Ends?” In Proceedings to 2019 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’19). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper W13, 8 pages

Austin Toombs, Laura Devendorf, Patrick Shih, Elizabeth Kaziunas, David Nemer, Helena Mentis, Laura Forlano. “Sociotechnical Systems of Care.” In Companion of the 2018 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW ’18). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 479-485

Laura Devendorf. Speculative Exoskeletons for Caregiving. Hosted at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in conjunction with the annual Media Live exhibition. May 2018.

Kristina Andersen, Laura Devendorf, James Pierce, Daniela K. Rosner, Ron Wakkary. “Disruptive Improvisation: Making Use of Non-Deterministic Art Practices in HCI ” In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ‘18). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper W11, 8 pages.

Stefanie Mueller, Laura Devendorf, Stelian Coros, Yoichi Ochiai, Madeline Gannon, Patrick Baudisch. “CrossFAB: Bridgeing the Gap between Personal Fabrication Research in HCI, Computer Graphics, Robotics, Art, Architecture, and Materials Science.” In Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’16). ACM, New York, NY, 3431-3437.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Kristina Andersen, Ron Wakkary, Laura Devendorf, and Alex McLean. 2019. Digital crafts-machine-ship: creative collaborations with machines. interactions 27, 1 (December 2019), 30–35.

Casey Fiesler, William Aspray, Lecia Barker, Jed Brubaker, Laura Devendorf, Brian Keegan, Leysia Palen, Michael Paul, Danielle Szafir, Ricarose Roque, Rick Robinson, Amy Voida, and Stephen Voida. 2017. Information science at CU Boulder. interactions 24, 4 (June 2017), 18-21.

Laura Devendorf. 2016. What you’ve been reading? interactions 23, 4 (June 2016), 14-15.

Laura Devendorf. 2016. “Anatomy of a Cyborg 3D Printer.” In The 3D Additivist Cookbook.
Curated by Morehshin Allahyari and Daniel Rourke.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Assistant Professor, ATLAS Institute & Department of Information Science,
University of Colorado, Boulder.

Graduate Student Researcher, UC Berkeley, CA
Prof. Kimiko Ryokai, School of Information, Summer 2013, Summer 2014, Spring 2015 – Fall 2015
Developed and studied interactive prototypes

Prof. Greg Niemeyer, Art Practice & Ron Real, Architecture, Summer 2004
Developed syllabus and materials for a course on urban prototyping entitled “Sensing Cityscapes.”

Artist in Residence, Autodesk, San Francisco, CA
Developed novel projects that make use of Autodesk’s Pier 9 fabrication workshops

Intern, Otherlab, San Francisco, CA
Developed novel computer aided design and construction activities.

Program and Events Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Humanities Center,
University of California Santa Barbara, CA
I coordinated speakers and events according to the IHC’s yearly themes.

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Santa Barbara, CA
Prof. Tobias Hollerer, Computer Science, 2011.
Designed and developed visualization tools for topic models and cyber security applications.

Prof. John Gilbert, Computer Science, 2010.
Designed and developed an interactive application for undergraduate scientific computing courses.

Graphic Designer and Lead Developer, Stewart+Brown, Ventura, CA
Stewart+Brown is an independent clothing label specializing in organic and sustainable fashion. I developed the online store and custom web-based software to streamline production tracking, designed t-shirt graphics and promotional materials, and aided in producing garment samples.

RESEARCH GRANTS AND GIFTS

Investigating Novel Tools and Collaborative Programs for Smart Textiles Innovation at the Intersection of Engineering and Craft
PI: Laura Devendorf
National Science Foundation CAREER Grant
Award #1943109
$127,203 (to date), April 2020 – March 2025
+$24,000 REU Supplement for 2020-2021

Developing Next-Generation Rapid Prototyping Tools to Catalyze Innovation
in Smart Textiles
PI: Laura Devendorf
National Science Foundation Research Initiation Initiative (NSF CISE CRII)
Award #1755587
$173,686, May 2018 – August 2019

Developing Next-Generation Rapid Prototyping Tools to Catalyze Innovation
in Smart Textiles – Research Experience for Undergraduates Supplement
PI: Laura Devendorf
National Science Foundation Research Initiation Initiative (NSF CISE CRII – PARTICIPANT)
$16,000, May 2018 – August 2019

Establishing an Experimental Weaving Residency to Bridge Art and Engineering
Co-PIs: Laura Devendorf, Steven Frost
Center for Craft Creativity and Design, Materials Based Research Grant
$7240, September 2018 – August 2019

Prototyping Support for Multi-Functional Textiles Research
PI: Laura Devendorf, Co-PI: Allison Anderson
Multifunctional Materials Interdisciplinary Research Theme Seed Grant
$15,000

Weaving Disciplines: Fostering Productive Relationships between Arts and Engineering
PI: Laura Devendorf
CU Boulder Research and Innovation Office Conference Grant
$1000

TEACHING

Designing Interactions (INFO 1121), University of Colorado, Boulder
Lead Instructor

Critical Technical Practice (INFO/ATLAS 4606/5606), University of Colorado, Boulder
Lead Instructor

Sensing Cityscapes, University of California, Berkeley
Graduate Student Instructor. Lead Instructors: Greg Niemeyer (Art Practice), Ronald Real (Architecture)

Theory and Practice of Tangible User Interfaces, University of California, Berkeley
Graduate Student Instructor. Lead Instructor: Kimiko Ryokai.

Technologies for Creativity and Learning, University of California, Berkeley
Graduate Student Instructor. Lead Instructor: Kimiko Ryokai.

INVITED TALKS & PANELS

Crafting (Smart) Textiles: Computational Design, Craft and Radical Possibility
Keynote at 2019 ACM Symposium on Computational Fabrication, Carnegie Mellon University.

Usable/Unstable: Design and Post-Anthropocentric Futures
CU Boulder Information Science Seminar Series

Usable/Unstable: Design and Post-Anthropocentric Futures
Concordia University, Design and Computational Arts Seminar Series

Fiber Futures
Accenture Labs Distinguished Lecture Series

Design and Fabrication of Smart Textiles
Dagstuhl Seminar on Computational Aspects of Fabrication

Unstable Technology for Unstable Futures.
“Designing Futures Panel” at European Forum Alpbach Technology Symposium.

Usable/Unstable: Making Space for Resistance in Design
ATLAS Institute University of Colorado, Boulder

Crafted Conversations
Hosted by the American Crafts Council, Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, CA

Slow and Unpredictable Prototyping
Data Clay Symposium, California College of the Arts, San Francisco CA.

Being the Machine: My Journey to Become a Human 3D Printer
Autodesk’s Pier 9 Workshop, San Francisco, CA

The Algorithm Multiple, the Algorithm Material
Contours of Algorithmic Life Symposium. UC Davis (with Elizabeth Goodman)

AnyType: Social Meaning in DIY Typefaces
Digital Society in Context, New Media Working Group, Berkeley, CA.

ART EXHIBITIONS

The Emerging Goddess. (with Emilia Louisa Pucci) Intersections: A conference exploring collaboration in textile design research. 2017.
3D Printing En Plein Air. Autodesk Artist in Residence Show, San Francisco, CA. 2016.
Being the Machine. Autodesk Artist in Residence Show, San Francisco, CA. 2015.
Redeform, TEI Arts Track, Stanford University, CA (Juried) 2015.
AnyType, Place by Design, SXSW Eco, Austin TX (Juried). 2014.
AnyType, Urban Prototyping Festival, San Francisco, CA (Juried). 2013.
Net in Ruins, Super Santa Barbara 2: Net Neutrality. Santa Barbara CAF, Santa Barbara, CA. 2011.
Canned Laughter, Fine Art Adoption Network, Pocket Utopia, New York, NY. 2008.
Canned Laughter, Anthology, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA. (Juried). 2007.

SELECT PRESS

“Maschinen: Chaos erwünscht” (Machines: “Chaos” Desired). Wissen Aktuell, Austrian National Radio (ORF). June 2017.

“Color-Changing Threads Might One Day Turn Your T-Shirt Into a Screen.” Gizmodo.com.
May 2016

“Artists in Residence Give High Tech Projects a Human Touch.” All Things Considered, National Public Radio. April 2015.

“PhD student’s project 3D Print En Plein Air allows you to 3D print in nature.”
3Ders.com. Nov. 2015

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Program Committee Member
Pictorials Chair, ACM SIGCHI Conference on Designing Interactive Systems, 2018 + 2020
Technical Chair, Symposium on Computational Fabrication, 2018

Associate Chair
ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2020
ACM SIGCHI Conference on Designing Interactive Systems, 2017, 2019

Journal Reviewer
Design Issues, Digital Creativity, Interacting with Computers

Grant Reviewer
National Science Foundation, Directorate on Computer & Information Science & Engineering

Conference Reviewer
ACM CHI 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
ACM DIS 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
ACM TEI 2018, 2019
ACM UIST 2019
ACM Creativity & Cognition, 2014