Dr. ABDULLAH X. ALI, Ph.D.

My Research

I earned my Ph.D. in human-computer interaction from the iSchool at the University of Washington.  Jacob O. Wobbrock was my advisor, and I was a member of the ACE Lab and DUB group. I also have masters degrees in information science, human-centered computing, and a bachelors in information systems. 

Previously, I worked on research at UMBC, Carnegie Mellon University, Microsoft Research, and Apple. Most notably, I am one of the creators of the Dyslexia-detecting game Dytective. I am a recipient of the NSF Bridge to Doctorate fellowship. 

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For a full list of my publications see my CV, Google Scholar page.

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I believe that technologies are tools that augment our abilities to aid us in accomplishing tasks. Our interactions with technologies should be a contextual assembly of our abilities (physical and mental) and preferences. My work focuses on designing interactive technologies informed by their users’ abilities and preferences. In my Ph.D. work, I have formulated the Distributed User-Centered Design process and built the CROWDDESIGN Engine—an online research platform that enables technology creators to follow this design method efficiently on a global scale.

Assembled Experience Design

Selected Projects