Who are we?

The Identity Lab is led by Jed Brubaker, an Assistant Professor of Information Science in CU Boulder's college of Media, Communication, and Information. The lab focuses on studying and designing how identity is designed, represented and experienced in technology.

The team

Jed R. Brubaker

Jed R. Brubaker

Lab Director
Assistant Professor

I'm an Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Science at CU Boulder. I joined the faculty at CU after finishing a Ph.D. in the department of Informatics at UC Irvine. I love cat pics and gummy candies, and have never met a method I didn't like.

Michael Ann DeVito

Michael Ann DeVito

Postdoctoral Researcher
Information Science

I’m a postdoctoral Computing Innovation Fellow and qualitative HCI researcher with a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. I study how users and communities understand and adapt to the challenges of everyday, casual human/AI collaboration. This includes work on folk understandings of algorithms, as well as work on how queer and trans communities adapt to social platforms. Outside the lab, I am mostly about cats, space, playing bass, and being in the snow.

Anthony Pinter

Anthony Pinter

Teaching Assistant Professor
ATLAS Institute

I am a Teaching Assistant Professor in the ATLAS Institute. I completed my Ph.D. in Information Science at CU Boulder in 2022. My research focuses on how identity in constructed through our relationships with others in the wake of romantic breakups. Outside of my work in those realms, I enjoy spending my time outside, where I ride bikes and skis whenever possible, for as long as possible.

Morgan Klaus Scheuerman

Morgan Klaus Scheuerman

Ph.D. Student
Information Science

I explore how individuals with diverse gender identities interact with technology. I earned a B.A. in Communication & Media Studies with a minor in Gender Studies at Goucher College and a M.S. in Human-Centered Computing at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. In my spare time, I enjoy travel, hiking, photography, and consuming snobby hipster coffee beverages in mid-century modern cafes.

Kandrea Wade

Kandrea Wade

Ph.D. Student
Information Science

I am a PhD student in Information Science where I research algorithmic identity and the digital surveillance of marginalized groups in order to create ethical regulations, legal protections and education on algorithmic identity and digital literacy. I received my MA in Media, Culture and Communications from New York University and BA in Technical Theatre from The University of Texas at Arlington.

Malinda (Mally) Dietrich

Malinda (Mally) Dietrich

Ph.D. Student
Communication

As a PhD student in the Communication department, I strive to be an interdisciplinary scholar interested in understanding how technologies inscribe data and organize information through mainly ethnographic and archival methods. I earned my B.A. in Communication (concentration in Media) and my M.S. in Communication from North Carolina State University. I enjoy caffeine consumption, hiking (read: spending time with my dog), playing video games, making art, and watching hockey.

Katy Weathington

Katy Weathington

Ph.D. Student
Information Science

Katy Weathington is a second year PhD student at University of Colorado Boulder's Department of Information Science. Her research centers on how data about marginalized people, primarily those with queer identites, gets made and implemented. She is co-advised by Brian Keegan

Dylan Thomas Doyle

Dylan Thomas Doyle

Ph.D. Student
Information Science

I am a Ph.D student in Information Science researching the intersection between death, grief and technology design and investigating how online platforms and communities might better embed values of empathy to sustain holistic systems of support for their users. I am an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and former hospital chaplain. In my spare time I host The Radical AI Podcast, play guitar, and run marathons.

Casey Paul

Casey Paul

BAM Student
Information Science

I’m a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder studying Information Science with a minor in Creative Technology and Design. I am also earning my master’s degree in Information Science concurrently with my bachelors degree through a Bachelor’s Accelerated Masters program. My research has consisted of understanding the needs and preferences of data and online platforms for deceased users, and how the bereaved needs can be met. Outside of this work I enjoy sports photography, reading, skiing, and doing puzzles.

Undergraduate Students

We are supported by many amazing undergraduate researchers. Many projects would not have been possible without them:

  • Fahad Almansour (Advertising, Public Relations, and Media Design)
  • Reece Suchocki (Information Science)

Collaborators

  • Caitie Lustig (University of Washington)
  • Charlie Blue Brahm (University of Washington)

Lab Alumni

Postdoctoral Members

  • Jes Feuston, Information Science (Researcher at Meta)

Graduate Members

  • Katie Gach, Ph.D. in Technology, Media, & Society (ATLAS), 2021 (Researcher at Meta)
  • Aaron Jiang, Ph.D. in Information Science, 2020 (Researcher at Meta)
  • Blake Hallinan, Ph.D. in Communication, 2019 (Lecturer at Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
  • Ethan Hanner, Computer Science

Undergraduate Members

  • Frank Stinar (Computer Science)
  • Joel Holton (Information Science)
  • Kayden Adams (Computer Science)
  • Amjad Alharbi (Computer Science)
  • Ian Fawaz (Computer Science)
  • Kyle Frye (Information Science)
  • Ellie Huey (Media Studies)
  • Marissa Kelley (Information Science)
  • Chris Koehler (Information Science)
  • Josh McCann (Computer Science)
  • Skyler Middler (Information Science)
  • Jacob Paul (Information Science)
  • Rachael Robinson (Applied Mathematics)
  • Tom Slesinger (Information Science)

Research Support

National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation

Facebook

Facebook

Mozilla Foundation

Mozilla Foundation

Gill Foundation

Gill Foundation