Arpita Bhattacharya

Profile

I am a fifth year PhD candidate in the Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE) at the University of Washington, Seattle. I have been working on projects on understanding needs and designing technologies for health, collaboration, and gaming. I enjoy teaching research methods.

My dissertation research is on designing technologies that can support teenagers in coping with stress and depression using the evidence based clinical practice of Behavioral Activation. I am co-advised by Julie Kientz and Sean Munson.

I completed my Master's in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta) in May 2015.

In Fall 2019, I am a Teaching Assistant for Global Innovation Research course (TECHIN 521): Design Thinking Studio, with instructor, Sara Zuberec.

Projects

Teen Mental Health

Online study with 23 teenagers on designing technologies for coping with stress: 10 weekly design activities over 3 months, interviews, and surveys. 2019.

Collaboration in Location-Based Gaming: Pokémon GO

Participant observations, survey with 510 people, and interviews with 25 players of Pokemon GO on coordination online & in-real-life. 2018.

Contextualizing Support for Quitting Smoking

Interviewed 28 clinical service providers and 13 people who want to quit smoking, and obtained their feedback on design mock-ups. 2017.

Motion-Based Game for Children with Autism

Design, development, and in-the-wild deployment study of a Kinect game for scaffolding social skills and movement for children with autism in a classroom setting. 2015.

Pivotal Experiences in Behavior Change

Interviews with 25 people who changed their behavior & 244 surveys for understanding how technologies can support pivotal experiences during behavior change. 2018.

K-12 Outreach: Physical Computing

Mentored undergraduate students who led Physical Computing workshops using Circuit Playground Express & MakeCode for Middle School and High School students in Neah Bay, WA. 2019.

Publications

    [9] Engaging Teenagers in Asynchronous Remote Groups to Design for Stress Management.
    Arpita Bhattacharya, Calvin Liang, Emily Y Zeng, Kanishk Shukla, Miguel Rios Wong, Sean A. Munson, and Julie A. Kientz. 2019. Interaction Design and Children 2019 (IDC '19), June 12-15. Boise, ID. (PDF) (Auxiliary materials)

    [8] Group Interactions in Location Based Gaming: A Case Study of Raiding in Pokémon GO.
    Arpita Bhattacharya, Travis W. Windleharth, Ivy Acevedo, Rio Ishii, Cecilia Aragon, Julie A. Kientz, Jason Yip, Jin Ha Lee.CHI 2019, Glasgow, UK. (PDF)

    [7] Understanding Pivotal Experiences in Behavior Change for the Design of Technologies for Personal Wellbeing.
    Arpita Bhattacharya, Samantha Kolovson, Yi-Chen Sung, Mike Eacker, Michael Chen, Sean A. Munson, Julie A. Kientz. In Journal of Biomedical Informatics. 2018. (Link)

    [6] Designing a Reclamation of Body and Health: Cancer Survivor Tattoos as Coping Ritual.
    Jordan Eschler, Arpita Bhattacharya, and Wanda Pratt. CHI 2018, Toronto, April 21-26. (PDF)

    [5] Values, Identity, and Social Translucence: Neurodiverse Student Teams in Higher Education.
    Annuska Zolyomi, Anne S Ross, Arpita Bhattacharya, Lauren Milne, and Sean A. Munson. CHI 2018, Toronto, April 21-26. (PDF)

    [4] Lessons from Practice: Designing Tools to Facilitate Individualized Support for Quitting Smoking.
    Arpita Bhattacharya, Roger Vilardaga, Julie A. Kientz, Sean A. Munson. Denver, CO. CHI 2017. (PDF) (Auxiliary materials)

    [3] Design Opportunities for Mental Health Peer Support Technologies.
    Katie O'Leary, Arpita Bhattacharya, Sean A. Munson, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Wanda Pratt. 2017. CSCW 2017. (PDF)

    [2]“It wasn’t really about the Pokémon”: Parents’ perspectives on a location-based mobile game.
    Kiley Sobel, Arpita Bhattacharya, Alexis Hiniker, A., Jin H. Lee, Julie A. Kientz, & Jason C. Yip. CHI 2017. (PDF)

    [1] Designing motion-based activities to engage students with autism in classroom settings.
    Arpita Bhattacharya, Mirko Gelsomini, Patricia Pérez-Fuster, Gregory D. Abowd, Agata Rozga. 2015. Interaction Design and Children (IDC '15), Boston, MA. (PDF)