About Me
About Me
Developing AI-powered wearables that expand access and effectiveness across diverse user populations
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Hi! I am Stefany Cruz, and I recently completed my Ph.D. in Computer Engineering at Northwestern University, where I was awarded Best Dissertation in Computer Engineering by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. I worked in the Ka MoaMoa lab and NU PATH lab, where I was co-advised by Josiah Hester and Maia Jacobs and worked closely with Stephen Xia.
Technical Focus
My research focused on developing AI-powered wearables that bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and real-world usability. I designed adaptive devices that integrate on-device machine learning with energy-efficient embedded systems to address specific challenges across three key areas: health, safety, and sustainability.
Real-world Impact
By leveraging AI with low-power embedded systems, my work aims to improve the accessibility and performance of wearable technologies across diverse applications. I focus on creating solutions that work effectively for broader user populations and address practical challenges in community settings.
Recognition and Media Coverage
I have published papers in top venues in ubiquitous computing (IMWUT), human computer interaction (CHI), and medical journals (JMIR mHealth and uHealth). I have been awarded Social Justice grants from Northwestern’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion and received an Ada Lovelace Microsoft Research Ph.D. fellowship to support my work in developing inclusive, equitable technologies for social good.
My research has been featured across several media outlets regionally and internationally such as CBS Chicago News, Crain's Chicago Business, Digital Trends, Hackster.io, The Independent, BBC Radio, NPR, and many more.
Research Overview/Themes
Research Overview/Themes
In my work, I identify barriers within wearable and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies that limit their accessibility and functionality, and I actively develop and deploy solutions to overcome these challenges. My approach uniquely integrates embedded systems development, signal processing, on-device machine learning, qualitative insights from lived experiences, and quantitative data analytics to bridge gaps in equity, design, and computing—ultimately creating wearable and IoT technologies that empower and uplift underserved populations. My research aims to address challenges across three themes: Health, Urban Safety, and Sustainability.
Selected Research
Selected Research
EquityWare: Co-designing Wearables With And For Low-Income Communities (CHI'23)
EquityWare: Co-designing Wearables With And For Low-Income Communities (CHI'23)
This work explores how members of Latine underserved communities from Los Angeles and Chicago perceive wearables. Using semi-structured interviews and system co-design through storyboards, I uncovered a strong demand for wearables that prioritize personal safety, situational awareness, and discreet, energy-efficient designs. This led me to develop a much-needed research agenda Equityware, a framework poised to drive impactful contributions through Hardware, Software, and Research and Education.
*This is a key publication from my Ph.D. Thesis
SmokeMon: Unobtrusive Extraction of Smoking Topography Using Wearable Energy-Efficient Thermal (IMWUT/UbiComp'23)
SmokeMon: Unobtrusive Extraction of Smoking Topography Using Wearable Energy-Efficient Thermal (IMWUT/UbiComp'23)
SmokeMon is a wearable necklace equipped with a deep-learning data analysis pipeline designed to automatically detect smoking behavior and extract detailed smoking topography. Its goal is to empower individuals to better understand the challenges of their addiction while maintaining ease of use through an unobtrusive, low-power design that remains affordable. Check out the press SmokeMon garnered worldwide!
BFree: Enabling Battery-free Sensor Prototyping with Python(IMWUT/UbiComp'21)
BFree: Enabling Battery-free Sensor Prototyping with Python(IMWUT/UbiComp'21)
BFree allows the development of battery-free applications, to novices and hobbyists, using the Python (leveraging AdaFruit’s CircuitPython ecosystem) programming language and widely available hobbyist maker platforms. BFree provides energy harvesting hardware and a power failure resilient version of Python, with durable libraries that enable common coding practice and off-the-shelf sensors. This work allows makers to engage with a useful, long-term, and environmentally responsible future of ubiquitous computing. Check out the press BFree received!
Latest News
Latest News
2024/10: Attended the Democratizing Intelligent Soft Wearables Workshop at UIST 2024 in Pittsburgh. Great to see other researchers interested in democratizing wearables!
2024/09: Attended the Tapia conference in San Diego.
2024/08: Honored that my JMIR paper was selected to be featured on JMIR Publications 2024 Summer Campaign!
2024/07: Wrapped up our study in LA on deploying wearables for urban safety.
2024/06: Honored to have been selected to be part of the 2024 CSST Summer Research Institute in Laguna Beach, CA. Had a great time connecting with amazing senior researchers/mentors in the HCI field working in Sociotechnical Systems!
2024/05: My JMIR paper was finally published and available to read! Ecstatic to have been invited to appear on CBS Chicago to talk about the findings in my work. Happy this work was received well and garnered lots of press regionally and internationally.
2024/04: Attended ASPLOS 2024 to present my workshop paper at the Workshop on Hot Topics in Ethical Computer Systems in San Diego.
2024/01: Passed my proposal and officially ABD! Thank you to my committee members : Josiah Hester, Maia Jacobs, Jennifer Mankoff, and Stephen Xia for their valuable feedback. My JMIR paper was also accepted!
2023/10: Attended UbiComp 2023 in Cancun Mexico to present my work A Design Framework For Equitable Wearables at the Doctoral Colloquium. Our paper SmokeMon was presented by Nabil Alshurafa at the conference. Also attended CSCW 2023 in Minneapolis for the Surfacing Structural Barriers to Community-Collaborative Approaches in Human Computer Interaction Workshop.
2023/08: Honored to have been selected to attend the NextProf Nexus Workshop at Georgia Tech!
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