BHM Periodic Table @ The Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

BHM Periodic Table - ICS Graduate Students

ICS Graduate Students

In February, UC Irvine’s Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS) celebrates Black History Month by highlighting pioneers in science and technology and sharing resources to expand diversity in tech. This year, we’re following the lead of Dana Boone, a student in Florida who, in 2021, put up at a display at his elementary school of the Periodic Table of Black History, created in 2019 by staff members at the Lakeland Public Library in Florida. Using that model as a foundation, we’ve created our own version, and here are the ICS graduate students included:

30 EA Elizabeth Ankrah is a fourth-year Informatics Ph.D. candidate and an NSF GRFP Fellow. Her work aims to explore the design of sociotechnical interventions that support the successful transition of adolescent and young adult childhood cancer survivors. Ankrah is a member of the Social & Technological Action Research (STAR) Lab, is affiliated with the Steckler Center for Responsible, Ethical, and Accessible Technology (CREATE), and is a Connecting the EdTech Research EcoSystem (CERES) scholar.

48 VA Vitica Arnold is a GAANN Fellow and first-year Informatics Ph.D. student who promotes the research, design and evaluation of accessibility in tech. Currently, her work explores the design of technology as means for support for people with cognitive disorders like ADHD and Alzheimer’s. Vitica is a member of the Accessibility Research Collective (ARC) Lab and the Social & Technological Action Research (STAR) Lab. Before transitioning to computer science, she was a data science fellow at Correlation One and obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychological science.

66 EAD Ella A. Dodor is a GEM Fellow and second-year doctoral student in software engineering here at UCI, where she also serves as a Teaching Assistant. She is a full-stack Web developer with extensive experience in developing innovative Web and mobile apps. She is passionate about user interface and experience design. With a new found interest in the use of Intelligent Personal Assistants in software development, Ella hopes to identify and contribute to solving challenges in this area as well.

67 ED Emani Dotch is a second-year Informatics Ph.D. student, NSF-GRFP Fellow, and UC-HBCU Fellow. In her research, she uses qualitative methods in designing, developing, and evaluating assistive technology to support autistic individuals, especially those from historically marginalized communities, through a community-based/community-partnered participatory research approach. Her research interests include human-computer interaction (HCI), accessibility, and assistive technology. Emani is a Social and Technological Action Research (STAR) Lab member and is affiliated with the Accessibility Research Collective (ARC). Before transitioning to UCI, Emani received her bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University.

83 CH Christine Head is first-year Informatics Ph.D. student.

84 JJ Jazette Johnson is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate (in her final month of study) in the Department of Informatics. Her research explores the emerging online support communities dementia caregivers and people living with dementia cultivate across their personal social media ecosystem. Throughout her time at UCI, she’s been awarded fellowships including the Microsoft Ada Lovelace Fellowship. She has also had the opportunity to strengthen and expand her skill set through interning at Meta Platforms and Microsoft Research. Before transitioning to UCI, Jazette received a bachelor of science in computer science from Spelman College and a master of science in human-computer interaction from Vanderbilt University.

85 WJK Whitney-Jocelyn Kouaho is a second-year Informatics Ph.D. student. Her current research focus is on the overt, covert, and unconscious instantiations of socioeconomic class cultures and their intersections in the design of wearables research studies and the subsequent wearables devices (Fitbit, Apple Watch, etc). She does these analyses through investigating diverse lenses such as time as both a temporal and class metric, physical activity design affordances, etc. Although she is currently investigating class as it relates to wearables, her overall research focus extends to a more expansive technological framework.

86 LW Lucretia Williams is pursuing a doctoral degree in Informatics with a concentration in human-computer interaction. Her specialization sits at the intersection of mental health, technology and equity. She designs and evaluates technologies to promote ethical and equitable user-centered products for interdisciplinary tech teams and startups. Prior to joining UCI, Lucretia obtained a bachelor’s of science in psychology from Howard University and worked as a Test Engineer at Accenture. Outside of academia, she helps small businesses and startups develop their brand and digital presence by helping them acquire the proper technology and systems.

Return to Periodic Table

30	EA	Elizabeth Ankrah is a fourth-year Informatics Ph.D. candidate and an NSF GRFP Fellow. Her work aims to explore the design of sociotechnical interventions that support the successful transition of adolescent and young adult childhood cancer survivors. Ankrah is a member of the Social & Technological Action Research (STAR) Lab, is affiliated with the Steckler Center for Responsible, Ethical, and Accessible Technology (CREATE), and is a Connecting the EdTech Research EcoSystem (CERES) scholar.
48	VA	Vitica Arnold is a GAANN Fellow and first-year Informatics Ph.D. student who promotes the research, design and evaluation of accessibility in tech. Currently, her work explores the design of technology as means for support for people with cognitive disorders like ADHD and Alzheimer’s. Vitica is a member of the Accessibility Research Collective (ARC) Lab and the Social & Technological Action Research (STAR) Lab. Before transitioning to computer science, she was a data science fellow at Correlation One and obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychological science.
66	EAD	Ella A. Dodor is a GEM Fellow and second-year doctoral student in software engineering here at UCI, where she also serves as a Teaching Assistant. She is a full-stack Web developer with extensive experience in developing innovative Web and mobile apps. She is passionate about user interface and experience design. With a new found interest in the use of Intelligent Personal Assistants in software development, Ella hopes to identify and contribute to solving challenges in this area as well.
67	ED	Emani Dotch is a second-year Informatics Ph.D. student, NSF-GRFP Fellow, and UC-HBCU Fellow. In her research, she uses qualitative methods in designing, developing, and evaluating assistive technology to support autistic individuals, especially those from historically marginalized communities, through a community-based/community-partnered participatory research approach. Her research interests include human-computer interaction (HCI), accessibility, and assistive technology. Emani is a Social and Technological Action Research (STAR) Lab member and is affiliated with the Accessibility Research Collective (ARC). Before transitioning to UCI, Emani received her bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University.
83	CH	Christine Head is first-year Informatics Ph.D. student.
84	JJ	Jazette Johnson is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate (in her final month of study) in the Department of Informatics. Her research explores the emerging online support communities dementia caregivers and people living with dementia cultivate across their personal social media ecosystem. Throughout her time at UCI, she’s been awarded fellowships including the Microsoft Ada Lovelace Fellowship. She has also had the opportunity to strengthen and expand her skill set through interning at Meta Platforms and Microsoft Research. Before transitioning to UCI, Jazette received a bachelor of science in computer science from Spelman College and a master of science in human-computer interaction from Vanderbilt University.
85	WJK	Whitney-Jocelyn Kouaho is a second-year Informatics Ph.D. student. Her current research focus is on the overt, covert, and unconscious instantiations of socioeconomic class cultures and their intersections in the design of wearables research studies and the subsequent wearables devices (Fitbit, Apple Watch, etc). She does these analyses through investigating diverse lenses such as time as both a temporal and class metric, physical activity design affordances, etc. Although she is currently investigating class as it relates to wearables, her overall research focus extends to a more expansive technological framework.
86	LW	Lucretia Williams is pursuing a doctoral degree in Informatics with a concentration in human-computer interaction. Her specialization sits at the intersection of mental health, technology and equity. She designs and evaluates technologies to promote ethical and equitable user-centered products for interdisciplinary tech teams and startups. Prior to joining UCI, Lucretia obtained a bachelor’s of science in psychology from Howard University and worked as a Test Engineer at Accenture. Outside of academia, she helps small businesses and startups develop their brand and digital presence by helping them acquire the proper technology and systems.