Hi, I’m Nur👋

I’m a fifth year PhD student at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, where I’m advised by John Zimmerman and Jim McCann.

My research focuses on supporting cross-functional AI teams in envisioning AI products and experiences. I develop resources and innovation processes to (1) support more effective collaboration at the ideation and problem formulation stages of a project; (2) sensitize teams to AI capabilities, limitations, and risks; and (3) help teams more fully explore the problem-solution space before selecting what to implement. I leverage participatory approaches, such as design thinking and facilitation, to help teams identify strong matches between existing AI capabilities and actual needs, while simultaneously assessing each idea’s latent risks.

I have collaborated with researchers and practitioners while at Google Research and Accenture Labs. Before Carnegie Mellon, I worked as a design consultant in the industry for over 7 years, designing products ranging from medical to consumer electronics, assistive robots, and transportation. I received my master’s and bachelor’s in Industrial Design from METU in Turkey.

My current projects include:

• Developing a Taxonomy of AI Capabilities: Technical AI terms are often inaccessible for non-experts. How do we translate AI capabilities into human terms to engage a broader set of stakeholders in AI problem formulation and ideation? (w/ Jodi Forlizzi)
• Envisioning Opportunities for AI in the Intensive Care Unit: With a diverse team including clinicians, HCI researchers, designers, and data scientists, we set out to explore opportunities for AI in the ICU. How do we go about envisioning and prototyping ideas that are clinically relevant, technically feasible, and financially viable? (w/ many collaborators from the University of Pittsburgh)
• Scaffolding Fair ML Practice: How can we support cross-functional collaboration in AI teams around fairness efforts? (w/ Ken Holstein and Micheal Madaio)

News

• January 2023 - Paper from my Google PAIR research internship is accepted to CHI 2023! “Investigating How Practitioners Use Human-AI Guidelines: A Case Study on the People + AI Guidebook” [preprint]
• January 2023 - Served as an Associate Chair for CHI 2023 in the Design track
• November 2022 - I passed my PhD thesis proposal and I am officially a PhD candidate!
• October 2022 - Invited talk at the Microsoft Research Summit Workshop on Metaphors for Human-AI Interaction
• August 2022 - Invited talk at Google on Envisioning Human-Centered AI Products
• June 2022 - Started summer internship at Google Research! Hosted by Fernanda Viegas and Mahima Pushkarna
• February 2022 - Serving as an Associate Chair for DIS 2022
• January 2022 - Paper accepted to CHI 2022! “How Experienced Designers of Enterprise Applications Engage AI as a Design Material” [pdf]