The CHI’24 sustainability committee received a number of strong submissions for the Special Recognition for Sustainable Practice, and we are excited to announce the winners. After considering all the submissions, we recognized projects based on two tracks: (i) Research with Potential for Sustainable Impact and (ii) Research Teams with Inspirational Research Practices. For each category, a winner and runner-up were selected. Without further ado:
For Research with Potential for Sustainable Impact:
- [Winner] SolderlessPCB: Reusing Electronic Components in PCB Prototyping through Detachable 3D Printed Housings. Zeyu Yan, Jiasheng Li, Zining Zhang, and Huaishu Peng (University of Maryland). Selected for its high potential to increase the sustainable reuse of electronic components in research, industry, and hobbyist electronics projects and prototyping.
- [Runner-up] Ecothreads: Prototyping Biodegradable E-textiles Through Thread-based Fabrication. Jingwen Zhu, Lily Winagle, and Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao (Cornell University). Selected for demonstrating the development and use of biodegradable material suitable for e-textiles and compatible with various fabrication processes (e.g., CNC machines), which has the potential to impact the way we develop future e-textile projects with sustainability in mind.
For Research Teams with Inspirational Research Practices:
- [Winner] Learning About Social Context From Smartphone Data: Generalization Across Countries and Daily Life Moments. Aurel Rubem Mäder, Lakmal Meegahapola, and Daniel Gatica-Perez (Idiap Research Institute, EPFL). Selected for use of virtual and hybrid meetings as routine during- and post-pandemic. Further, connection to the European WENET project makes this project stand out as building social connections that cross geographic and cultural boundaries speaks to broader definitions of sustainability.
- [Runner-up] ShareYourReality: Investigating Haptic Feedback and Agency in Virtual Avatar Co-embodiment. Karthikeya Puttr Venkatraj, Wo Meijer, Monica Perusquia-Hernandez, Gijs Huisman, and Abdallah El Ali (Various). Selected for the reuse of research materials/equipment already available at the university instead of purchasing new items to run the study that borrowed what they needed.
Congratulations to our winners and runner-up, and thank you to everyone who shared their work with us. If you wish to learn more about this projects, please look for them in the CHI’24 program; the projects receiving these recognitions have been indicated in the program as well.
