A cartoon diary of CHIIR 2026 in Seattle 🌸
Second time in Seattle, but first time with friends — Jacek, Gavin, and fellow iSchoolers by my side! ☀️ And guess what — no rain! Cherry blossoms in the sunlight were absolutely breathtaking.
My very first academic conference. Heart pounding, palms sweaty, badge on. Nervous and excited at the same time!
First session. First speaker. That was me. I gripped that tiny microphone for dear life the whole time 😅. I thought I was only nervous for 3 minutes... probably fooling myself! But my voice was loud, and I believe I got the idea across — how CHIIR researchers define and measure attention, along with questions and suggestions for the field.
Q&A was a bit panic-inducing 😰 — didn't answer every question perfectly. But so many hands went up! That means people were engaged and curious. That's a win! 🎉
Mind = blown! 🤯 Eye-tracking data has SO much potential: even missingness in gaze data can be meaningful; raw eye-tracking data can predict personality traits!
So many fascinating topics! Cognitive load × deepfake detection, micro-behavior patterns of blind users shopping online, Meta's visual memory glasses, and tons of LLM research. Some people delivered multiple presentations — truly impressive! 🙌
Everyone has their own unique presentation aura! People from all over the world, converging in beautiful Seattle to exchange ideas and ask wonderful questions. Everyone sees the same topic from such different angles — truly magical. ✨
Bowling night + pool! 🎱 Some went full power, some calculated every angle, some deliberated endlessly. Behind every researcher is a real human — competitive, emotional, and wonderfully unique beyond their papers.
Chirag's closing keynote left me thinking: Am I asking the right questions? Jacek asked us at the workshop — are we asking big questions?