About SIGCHI-M
SIGCHI-M is the Melbourne Local Chapter of the International ACM SIGCHI professional organisation – to bring together HCI and UX professionals, academics, and anyone interested in human-computer interaction.
Anyone is free to join. Please use the email link on the home page to connect with us and become a member!
2024 officers of SIGCHI Melbourne:
Diego Muñoz: Chair
Diego Muñoz is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Swinburne Living Lab. He is interested in research projects that involve co-design, qualitative research and technology design from a human-centred perspective. As Chair of SIGCHI Melbourne, Diego hopes to help the local HCI community grow and to encourage connections between HCI practitioners and academics. Read more.
Jeni Paay: Vice Chair
Jeni is a Professor of Interaction Design in the School of Design at the Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne. She has a trans-disciplinary background spanning architecture, computer science, and Human-Computer Interaction publishing in Interaction Design. Her research areas include Design Methods; Interaction Design for Mobiles, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality; Digital Health; Smart Spaces; Design for Future Workspaces and User Experience Design. Read more.
Arzoo Atiq: Membership Chair
Arzoo Atiq is a Lecturer (Teaching Specialist) within the Human-Computer Interaction group at the School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on interaction design, service design and user experience design, particularly in the fields of education, telecommunication, and health. Read more.
Anthony Phuc Le: Financial Chair
Anthony is a PhD student in UX-Service Design at Monash University. He is passionate about solving problems through technological innovations. He has interdisciplinary expertise in medicine, health service management, and ICT. He is currently working on an interdisciplinary and industrial research project to explore the intercultural communication challenges of migrants in Australia and codesign with them relevant solutions. Read more.
Erin Beel: Communications Chair & Industry Liaison
Erin Beel is an inclusive design leader with over 24 years of experience, currently applying her deep expertise in accessibility and user experience as a freelance consultant. Having led design and accessibility efforts in both the public sector and digital consulting, Erin has worked with organisations such as Emergency Victoria, Chemist Warehouse, MONA Museum, Melbourne Water and Monash University. Passionate about human-centred and social design, she has contributed to worldwide accessibility capabilities, led award-winning projects, and developed organisation-wide Ethical AI frameworks. Read more.
Rakesh Patibanda: Digital Media Chair
Rakesh is a doctoral researcher at the Exertion Games Lab, Monash University, where his work explores the fascinating confluence of the human body, technology, and play. His doctoral thesis investigates how we can create playful experiences with the human body as the focal point, reminiscent of the games we immersed ourselves in during childhood. To bring this vision to life, his research introduces the concept of ‘body-actuating play’. This innovative approach envisions a symbiotic relationship between humans and wearable robotic technologies such as Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS), allowing the body to serve simultaneously as both a means of control and a medium for feedback. Read more.