Hanahan, Hoeferlin awarded grants for cross-disciplinary research

Hanahan, who chairs the Sam Fox School’s new Master of Design for Human-Computer Interaction and Emerging Technology, is collaborating with Professor Shantanu Chakrabartty and Associate Professor Chuan Wang in the McKelvey School of Engineering. Together, they will develop a proof-of-concept haptic interface system. The system will guide human-computer partnership driving physical activity and movement, exploring how information is translated through ambient and multi-sensory strategies complement a human’s environment, rather than imposes on it, as visual-first tools often do. In practice, systems like these could improve human performance in fields where information overload can be dangerous, like healthcare and manufacturing. The work builds on Hanahan’s research in the Sensory and Ambient Interfaces Lab.

Hoeferlin is part of the team led by Professor Amy Eyler of the Brown School that aims to advance the study of nature and health through a transdisciplinary collaborative between WashU, the St. Louis community, and national efforts. They will expand on existing research that shows the beneficial relationship between time in nature and human health, including improved immune function and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. They will also explore environmental justice through the lack of equity around access to green space and nature. As chair of landscape architecture at the Sam Fox School, Hoeferlin’s research focuses on watershed architecture, urban sustainability, and biodiversity and ecologically based design.