People

Director

JooYoung Seo

Ph.D., Learning, Design, and Technology

Dr. JooYoung Seo leads the (x)Ability Design Lab, where their research focuses on accessibility research. He is an assistant professor in the School of Information Sciences and a faculty affiliate in the Department of Computer Science, Informatics Institute, and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Seo is also an RStudio double-certified data science instructor and accessibility expert certified by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP). His research topics involve accessible computing, universal design, inclusive data science, and equitable healthcare technologies. As an emerging learning scientist and information scientist, his research focuses particularly on how to make computational literacy more accessible to people with dis/abilities by using multimodal data representation.

He has worked on various research and development projects on accessible computing and open-source data science packages (e.g., gt; shiny; rmarkdown to name a few) for accessibility. His research projects have involved not just web accessibility, but also human-centered design and development studies, including inclusive makerspaces, tangible block-based programming, accessible data science (e.g., data tactualization, sonification, and verbalization), and accessible/reproducible scientific writing tools for people with and without dis/abilities.

His research is funded by national institutes, industrial partners, and academic society, such as Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), Posit Software, PBC (formerly RStudio), Teach Access, and the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) and the Wallace Foundation.

Seo obtained his PhD and M.Ed in at the Pennsylvania State University, and double BA in education and English literature from Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea.

Ph.D. Students

Sanchita Kamath

Ph.D. Student, Information Sciences

Her research focuses on designing and developing immersive, user-centered solutions that enhance accessibility and inclusivity, particularly for blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals. With a background in Computer Science and Engineering, Sanchita’s work seeks to bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and user experience. She is currently working on studies that investigate cognition in BLV people and multiple tools and technologies through which this can be achieved.

Aziz N. Zeidieh

Ph.D. Student, Informatics

Aziz is a data-driven human-computer interaction researcher working at the intersection of orientation and mobility, artificial intelligence, and assistive technology. His current work focuses on utilizing multimodal AI models to provide an accessible and interactive application for the spatial orientation of blind and visually impaired (BVI) travelers. He is actively exploring opportunities to leverage data and the lived experiences of BVI individuals to facilitate safer and more efficient technologically interdependent travel experiences.

Omar Khan

Ph.D. Student, Computer Science

Omar is a human-computer interaction researcher working at the intersection of accessibility, mental health and wellness, and artificial intelligence. His current research investigates the usefulness of existing digital mental health tracking services throughout the blind and low-vision (BLV) community and how they might be improved for greater accessibility, utility, and inclusivity. He is also continually exploring opportunities to leverage emerging technologies such as large language models (LLMs), co-designing these experiences with the BLV community to provide personalized mental health support.