Thanks for stopping by! Ester Chen is a Ph.D. student in Computing and Information Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology. She works with Prof. Hidy Kong and is a member of the Center for Accessibility and Inclusion Research (CAIR).
Her research in human-computer interaction examines visual misinformation, trust in automated advice, and ownership in data analysis and knowledge work. Her publications include papers in ACM CHI, ACM CSCW, and AAAI ICWSM.
She is interested in accessible design and algorithmic accountability, and hopes to develop responsible assistive technologies that support autonomy and well-being. For her doctoral research, she is exploring the interplay of AI and visualization (AI4Vis and Vis4AI) as one possible direction.
🔥 News
2026
- 2026.04: 🎉 Full Paper was accepted for presentation at ACM CSCW 2026 in Salt Lake City, USA 🇺🇸. | "Not a Collaborator or a Supervisor, but an Assistant: Striking the Balance Between Efficiency and Ownership in AI-incorporated Qualitative Data Analysis"
- 2026.03: 💡 Selected as an NSF AWARE-AI Research Trainee (August 2026 to August 2027) to develop accessible HCI methods and study how people interact with AI and robots.
- 2026.01: 🎉 Full Paper was accepted for presentation at ACM CHI 2026 in Barcelona, Spain 🇪🇸. | "What Happened to Scenario-Based Design in HCI?: A Scoping Review"
2025
- 2025.06: 🎉 Full Paper was accepted for presentation at ACM CSCW 2025 in Bergen, Norway 🇳🇴. | "Effect of AI Performance, Risk Perception, and Trust on Human Dependence in Deepfake Detection AI System"
- 2025.05: 📖 Passed my Ph.D. qualifying exam. Thank you to Dr. Hidy Kong and my examining committee (Dr. Roshan L. Peiris, Dr. Ji Hwan Park, and Dr. Garreth W. Tigwell) for their time and insights.
2024
- 2024.11: 🎉 Full Paper was accepted for presentation at AAAI ICWSM 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark 🇩🇰. | "A Study of Training Strategies on Enhancing Human Detection of AI-Synthesized Faces"
- 2024.08: 📖 Started my Ph.D. in Computing and Information Sciences (CIS) at RIT.
- 2024.05: 🎓 Completed my M.Sc. in Informatics at Penn State, supervised by Dr. John M. Carroll. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Dongwon Lee, Dr. Aiping Xiong, and Dr. Nicole Kreisberg, for their guidance and support.
2023
- 2023.09: 💡 Poster and abstract were accepted for presentation at ANFA 2023 in San Diego, USA 🇺🇸. | "Impact of Virtual Reality Navigation on Emotional Responses to Virtual Architectural Environments."
📝 Publications
Peer-Reviewed Publications
See Google Scholar for the full publication list and citation counts.
analysis
Not a Collaborator or a Supervisor, but an Assistant: Striking the Balance Between Efficiency and Ownership in AI-incorporated Qualitative Data Analysis
ACM CSCW 2026
We interviewed 16 qualitative researchers about AI-assisted analysis. Their preferences for delegation reflected trade-offs between efficiency, trust, and ownership of the interpretation.
- Qualitative data analysis
- Collaborative coding
- Degree of delegation
- Artificial intelligence
design
What Happened to Scenario-Based Design in HCI?: A Scoping Review
ACM CHI 2026
We reviewed 125 HCI papers and traced scenario-based design methods. Our framework maps who creates scenarios, how they are experienced, when they are used, and what they explore.
- Scenario-based design
- Scoping review
- Participatory design
- Design methods
performance
perception
AI advice
Effect of AI Performance, Risk Perception, and Trust on Human Dependence in Deepfake Detection AI System
ACM CSCW 2025
We studied trust and reliance in deepfake detection with 390 participants. Reported AI performance shaped trust, but trust did not significantly predict following AI advice.
- Deepfake detection
- Human–AI decision-making
- Trust in AI
- Risk perception
A Study of Training Strategies on Enhancing Human Detection of AI-Synthesized Faces
AAAI ICWSM 2025*Co-first author
We compared three training strategies with 237 participants. Training improved synthetic-face detection and confidence, though additional artifact training could increase misclassification of real faces.
- Deepfake detection
- AI-synthesized faces
- Perceptual learning
- Decision confidence
📖 Education
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Rochester Institute of Technology
August 2024–PresentPh.D. student in Computing and Information Sciences
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, United States
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Penn State University (University Park)
May 2024M.Sc. in Informatics
College of Information Sciences and Technology, United States
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University of Western Ontario
June 2021B.Sc. in Mathematics
Department of Mathematics, Canada
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University of Warwick
September 2019Exchange student
Department of Computer Science, United Kingdom
Work & Apprenticeships
Beyond work
Outside the lab, Ester unwinds by skiing (a leg injury taught her that slopes have rush hour, too), hiking, playing electric guitar, and practicing latte art (preferably with matcha).
