Research at the Human-Centered Innovation Research (HCIR) Team

Welcome to the Human-Centered Innovation Research (HCIR) Team, led by Dr. Will Zhao at the University of Waterloo. Our team is dedicated to advancing innovation that contributes to human and societal well-being. Drawing on interdisciplinary insights from social sciences, engineering, and humanities, we seek to push the boundaries of traditional innovation studies, fostering solutions that resonate across well-being sectors such as health and education, while also engaging with business contexts as sites of organizational and technological development.

Our Research Themes

Our research is organized around three interconnected themes of innovation:

​​​​​​Organizational Dimensions of Innovation

  • This research line emphasizes the importance of organization and organizing for innovation, focusing on social structures, practices, and behaviors. Drawing on theories and evidence from organizational behavior and institutional analysis, we study the dynamics that facilitate or hinder innovative (and entrepreneurial) processes in sectors like health and education, identifying pathways to create more resilience and innovations.

Emerging Technology Ethics

  • This research stream tackles the ethical implications of emerging technologies, especially AI, within and beyond business, with a specific emphasis on their applications in health, education, and business. We are committed to developing and examining ethical guidelines and frameworks that promote responsible business innovation while enhancing societal well-being, emphasizing diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of technological development and deployment.

Applied AI and XR

  • We are enthusiastic about the transformative potential of applying machine learning and extended reality in personalizing and democratizing experiences in healthcare, education, and other domains. By focusing on predictive modeling, diagnostics, and the incorporation of embodied, movement-based interactions, we aim to foster innovations that directly benefit human and societal well-being.

Our Approaches

Our team utilizes both qualitative and quantitative methods to address the interdisciplinary research questions related to innovation. Our toolkit includes linguistic and semiotic analysis, statistical modeling, machine learning, and the analysis of multimodal, movement-based data. By examining both the economic and societal impacts of innovation, we explore how sectors such as health, education, and business can be transformed through human-centered technologies and organizational practices. These diverse methods enable us to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in innovation while promoting human and societal well-being.


Get in Touch

We conduct research at both our Stratford and main Waterloo campuses. For inquiries about academic and industry collaborations, including joint postdoctoral opportunities through industry-academic partnerships, please contact Dr. Will Zhao at wwzhao[at]uwaterloo.ca.