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General Information
Full Name | Katherine W. Song |
Affiliation | University of California, Berkeley (→Delft University of Technology in Fall 2024) |
Education
- 2024
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
University of California, Berkeley - Computer Science
- Major area = Human-Computer Interaction
- Minor areas = Computer Graphics and Vision, New Media
- 2013
Master of Science (SM)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - EECS
- Major area = Optoelectronic Materials and Devices
- Minor area = Biological and Health Sciences
- Completed PhD qualifying exams, coursework, and teaching requirements (2011-2014)
- 2011
Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) with Highest Honors
Princeton University - Electrical Engineering
- Certificates in Materials Science and Engineering, Applications in Computing
Academic Research Experience
- 2019-present
Graduate Researcher
Hybrid Ecologies Lab, UC Berkeley
- Advisor = Professor Eric Paulos, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
- Area of research = decomposable interactive systems
- 2013-2014
Graduate Research Fellow
MIT Media Lab Biomechatronics Group & Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
- Advisors = Professor Hugh Herr (MIT Media Lab) and Dr. Bryan L. McLaughlin (Draper Laboratory)
- Designed and fabricated an implantable peripheral nerve microchannel interface for bi-directional prosthesis control
- 2011-2013
Graduate Research Fellow
Organic and Nanostructured Electronics Laboratory, MIT
- Advisor = Professor Vladimir Bulović, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Invented an electrophoretic deposition technique to form thin layers of quantum dots (QDs) for light emitting devices
- Fabricated and characterized record-efficiency near-infrared QD-LEDs using core-shell PbS-CdS quantum dots
- 2009-2011
Undergraduate Researcher
Large Area Electronics Group & Verma Lab, Princeton University
- Advisors = Professors Sigurd Wagner and Naveen Verma, Department of Electrical Engineering
- Fabricated a top-gate staggered thin-film transistor (TFT) structure using a new hybrid material as a gate dielectric
- Characterized the mechanical flexibility of TFTs made with the new gate dielectric on a plastic substrate
- Designed and fabricated a TFT circuit to interface between large-area sensing sheets and nanoscale integrated circuit chips for structural health monitoring
- 2008
Summer Researcher
Carnegie Mellon University Materials Science Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)
- Advisor = Professor James W. Schneider, Department of Chemical Engineering
- Used DNA-surfactant tagging and capillary electrophoresis to sort carbon nanotubes
Industry Experience
- 2022
Technology Innovation Summer Research Associate
Future Technologies Group, Accenture Labs, San Francisco, CA
- Designed and fabricated a 100% backyard-degradable packaging system that wirelessly heats its contents
- 2015-2017
Display Electrical Engineer (full-time)
Apple, Inc., Cupertino, CA
- Direct Responsible Individual (DRI) for iPhone X display rigid flex PCB, from conception to mass production
- DRI for iPhone X and Watch 2 failure analysis during assembly, software bring-up, and testing at factory sites
- Prototyped and collaborated with vendors to develop new display and module packaging technologies
- 2009
Visiting Researcher
Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto, CA
- Host = Dr. Robert A. Street, Senior Research Fellow
- Characterized and modeled organic bulk heterojunction and silicon nanowire solar cells
Service (Academic)
- 2025
Associate Chair
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
- Design Subcommittee (papers)
- 2025
Associate Chair
ACM Conference on Tangible and Embedded Interaction (TEI)
- Papers Track
- 2024
Associate Chair
ACM Conference on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST)
- Papers Track
- 2024
Associate Chair
ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS)
- Papers Track, Artefacts and Systems
- 2024
Guest Editor
Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI)
- Special Issue on “Unmaking and HCI:Techniques, Technologies, Materials, and Philosophies Beyond Making”
- 2019-2024
Reviewer
- CHI - 2021, 2022***, 2023**, 2024**, 2025
- CSCW - 2022*
- DIS - 2023, 2024**
- ISCW - 2019
- TEI - 2023, 2025
- UIST - 2023, 2024*
- (* denotes outstanding review)
- 2022
PhD Admissions Student Reviewer
UC Berkeley EECS Department
- 2020 & 2021
PhD HCI Admit Visit Day Coordinator
UC Berkeley EECS Department
- 2020-2022
Reading Group Organizer
- Founded student group and led weekly meetings for Berkeley undergraduates interested in HCI
- 2013
Chair
MARC2013 - MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories Annual Research Conference
- Led the planning and execution of a ~300-attendee, student-run annual conference
- Spearheaded the introduction of new types of technical presentations and interactive fun/educational opportunities
Service (Community)
- 2019-2020
Volunteer
Berkeley Humane Society
- Supported shelter operations through facility upkeep and animal caretaking
- 2018-2019
Mentor
Quarry Lane High School FIRST Robotics Team
- Guided the robot design and program management for the 1st FRC team for Quarry Lane HS (Dublin, CA)
- 2016
Volunteer
Nepal Volunteers Council
- Set up a computer lab for a school in Kathmandu, Nepal by repairing donated units and salvaging parts
Honors and Awards
- 2023-2024
BEARGradS Award, William S. Floyd, Jr. Fellowship in Engineering
Berkeley Graduate Division
- Awarded to 1 new admit in the EECS department every year
- 1 year of stipend, tuition, and fees
- 2022-2023
Berkeley Fellowship for Graduate Study
Berkeley Graduate Division
- Up to 2 years of stipend, tuition, and fees
- 2019-2022
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship
US Department of Defense
- 3 years of stipend, tuition, fees, and travel
- 2020-2022
Innovation Catalysts Grant Awardee
Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, UC Berkeley
- Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022
- Total $3500
- 2011-2014
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
NSF
- 3 years of stipend, tuition, fees, and travel
- 2011-2012
Henry Ford II Fellowship
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- 1 year of stipend, tuition, and fees
- 2011
Hertz Foundation Fellowship Finalist (1 of 50)
- 2011
Charles Ira Young Tablet and Medal
Princeton Department of Electrical Engineering
- “A memorial tablet to Charles Ira Young, class of 1883, has been placed in the Engineering Bldg. by friends of Mr. Young. The medal will be awarded each year to the student who excels in research in Electrical Engineering.”
- 2011
Peter Mark Prize
Princeton Department of Electrical Engineering
- “Awarded annually to a senior in Electrical Engineering, having an outstanding record in the area of electronic materials and devices.”
- 2011
Outstanding Materials Student Award
Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM)
- “PRISM’s highest undergraduate honor, the ‘Outstanding Materials Student Award’ recognizes the combined excellence in academics, research, and dedication to materials science.”
- 2011
Tau Beta Pi Prize
Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)
- “This award is given to a senior class member, or members, who have significantly contributed a major part of his or her time in service to the SEAS.”
- 2010
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
Goldwater Foundation
- 1 of ~400 awardees
- Up to $15000 for 2 years of undergraduate study
- 2008
Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence
Princeton University
- 2008
Manfred Pyka Memorial Physics Prize
Princeton University Physics Department
Other Interests
- Hobbies: trail/ultra-running (50km+), rock climbing