Human-Computer Interaction Nutrition Literacy Well-being

How Technology Can Support Healthy Eating

Prof. Harmon presented new insights at the CSCW and CHI conferences into how we can design apps to teach nutrition literacy and use AI to inspire healthier eating. Josephina Caico ’23, Brian Liu ’25, and Andy Stoneman ’23 began working on phase two of the CSCW project in Summer 2022.

Human-Computer Interaction Mental Health Well-being

Strengthening Mental Resilience

Prof. Harmon presented the first results on how user experience design in the Betwixt app may help individuals strengthen their mental resilience to CHI and interactive narrative audiences. Jigyasa Subedi ’22 studied this work as well as connections to upcoming research questions, gaining experience in state-of-the-art human-computer interaction and natural language processing techniques.

Virtual Reality Accessibility

Virtual Reality for All

Photo by Rebecca Goldfine

Our lab researchers have been busy - both in the real and virtual world! Dani Hove '20 worked on expanding VR resources for Bowdoin students, as well as making virtual environments more accessible for all.

Natural Language Processing Sentiment Analysis

Waka Waka, Make the Art (and Science!) Thing

What do computational creativity researchers look like, and what do they do all day? At NC State and UNC Charlotte, Prof. Harmon and Katie McDonough '19 shared insights they discovered using natural language processing techniques.

Interactive Narrative Educational Psychology

Formalizing Bloom's Taxonomy for Interactive Narrative

Photo by Mirjam P. Eladhari

Bloom's taxonomy of learning objectives is central to many teaching philosophies and helps instructors ensure a variety of skills are assessed in class. Seth Chatterton '19 and Dr. Harmon formalized these objectives into logical assertions, allowing for the generation of metaphorical links between learning objectives and narrative elements. Together, they traveled to Trinity College Dublin to present their work at the International Conference on Digital Storytelling, and joined discussions as members of the Association for Research into Digital Interactive Narratives.

Cognitive Cooking Machine Learning & Optimization

Smart Cookies for a Cause

We can use computational creativity techniques to tackle all kinds of problems...and even invent delicious solutions! Prof. Harmon and her student researchers (including Mackenzie Schafer '19!) designed computer algorithms that would generate cookie recipes, and shared their results with the community to celebrate computational creativity for the common good. The project helped raise over $200 in donations to support the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program. Read about the event in the Bowdoin Orient, or check out the official college video.