Welcoming new talent: researchers join Arts through the Provost’s Program for Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Scholars
The Faculty of Arts is pleased to welcome two new postdoctoral fellows, who have joined the Provost’s Program for Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Scholars: Dr. Geneva Smith (left in image above) who began in her role on July 1, 2024, and Dr. Paula Catalina Sanchez Nuñez de Villavicencio (right in image above) who will begin on August 1, 2024.
Geneva Smith, who is supervised by Dr. Lennart Nacke from the Stratford School of Interaction and Design and Dr. Mark Hancock, from the Department of Management Science and Engineering, is focused on advancing the understanding of computers as a storytelling medium. She examines the relationship between programmed systems, user interactions, and a user's perception of digital narratives. Storytelling is a crucial component of user experience, and Smith’s focus on storytelling for social change combines digital interactive narratives with user experience insights. She aims to understand how to create and evaluate interactive digital narratives that provide positive learning experiences.
“I’m inspired by the power of stories to connect and move people, and I want to help further our understanding of how to do that in digital forms,” she says. Smith’s interest in games as a form of digital storytelling drew her to join the University of Waterloo’s Games Institute. The interdisciplinary nature of the Games Institute, which combines elements of art and science to construct successful digital narratives, will be advantageous to her work.
“She has brought new energy to our research groups, including my Touchlab,” says Hancock. “Geneva is a highly focused and dedicated postdoc,” Nacke adds. “Given that we are a highly interdisciplinary team at the HCI Games Group, her perspective will enrich everyone’s work.”
Paula Catalina Sanchez Nuñez de Villavicencio, co-supervised by Dr. Ashley Mehlenbacher from the Department of English and Dr. Mary Wells, Dean of Engineering and materials engineer, will focus her research on understanding how and why people trust or distrust wearable technologies. Her cross-disciplinary approach, rooted in both the humanities and social sciences within Arts and Engineering, is crucial as AI increasingly integrates into our daily lives and wearables. This growing presence compels us to rethink our engagement with personal technology. “Our perception and trust in these technologies not only affect their success and our relationships with them but also influence the growth of entire industries,” says Nuñez de Villavicencio.
Her research, including her 2023 book Prison House of the Circuit: A Media Genealogy, serves as an essential guide as we navigate emerging technologies like AI and consider how to design technologies that are inherently trustworthy. Nuñez de Villavicencio joins Waterloo to build on her previous research on the genealogy of wearable optical media, from its origins in the Middle Ages to modern AI smart glasses, and to investigate trust issues in collaboration with the Trust in Research Undertaken in Science and Technology (TRuST) Scholarly Network. Mehlenbacher highlights, “Paula examines how power and knowledge circulate and are shaped by our information systems, offering a critical cultural perspective to the study of technology that will help shape the future of TRuST and the work we undertake.”
The Faculty of Arts is thrilled to welcome these outstanding scholars to the University, where their contributions will enrich our research community and advance our goal to build community through interdisciplinary collaboration.