At MBZUAI, Professor Churchill will continue groundbreaking research in HCI and AI, while also nurturing the next generation of AI leaders through her dedication to education and mentorship.
Respected user experience (UX) expert, Professor Elizabeth Churchill, will spearhead Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence’s (MBZUAI) Human-Computer Interaction Department. She brings expertise in human-computer interaction (HCI), artificial intelligence (AI), psychology, and cognitive science.
At MBZUAI as Department Chair of HCI and Professor of HCI she will lead the establishment of the university’s newest department, having added computer science and robotics departments last year.
Her announcement coincides with her most recent prestigious Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) SIGCHI (Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction) Lifetime Practice Award accepted in Hawaii this month, which follows her 2023 ACM SIGCHI Lifetime Service Award.
“Professor Churchill’s exceptional track record of research and leadership in HCI and AI will further elevate our university’s academic programs and strengthen our commitment to excellence in AI education and research. This appointment underscores MBZUAI’s commitment to attracting world-class talent and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in AI,” Professor Eric Xing, President, MBZUAI.
“This initiative represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of AI education and research, where the fusion of human-centred design principles with cutting-edge technology will shape the future of AI innovation. I look forward to collaborating with students, faculty, and industry partners to cultivate a vibrant community of HCI scholars and practitioners dedicated to advancing AI for the benefit of society,” Professor Churchill share.
Professor Churchill most recently served as Senior Director of UX at Google, where she led a team focused on creating developer tooling for Fuchsia, a next generation operating system. She has also worked with Google, eBay, Yahoo, and PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), where she spearheaded innovative research and design initiatives. Professor Churchill holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from the University of Cambridge and honorary doctorates from the University of Sussex and the University of Stockholm. She is a member of the ACM CHI Academy, an ACM Fellow, and an ACM Distinguished Speaker. Her current focus is on social, computer, engineering, design, and data sciences to create innovative end-user applications. She has more than 50 patents granted or pending.
